UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SCHOOL  OF  LAW 
LIBRARY 


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THE 


LAWYER  IN  THE  SCHOOL-ROOM 


COMPRISING   THE 


LAWS   OF  ALL  THE    STATES 

OS 

IMPORTANT  EDUCATIOX.U.  SUBJECTS. 
Carefully  Compiled,  Arranged,  Cited,  aud  Explained, 

BY 

M.  McJ\r.  mdZSjET,  ;d.Jf.,  ZL.:S., 

OF  THE   KEW-YOKK   DAB. 


"Honor  $3  ordained  for  no  cause 
But  to  see  right  maintained  by  the  laws.' 


J.  W.   SCHERMERHORN   &   CO.,   430   BROOME   STREET. 

PuiLADELPUiA,  512  Arch  Street  ;    Chicago,  6  CcsToxi-HorsE  Place. 

London:  60  Paternoster  Row,  Trubner  &  Co. 

SOLD  DT  BOOKSELLERS  GHNEKALLY. 

1867. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1807,  by 

M.  McN.  WALSH, 

in  tiie  Clerk's  OflBce  of  the  District  Court  far  the  Southern  District  of  New- York. 


T 


b 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Of  Schools,  Schooi,  Systems,  asd  Gotebsmekts.— Giving  an  explanation  of  the  dif 
ferent  plans  that  have  been  adopted  for  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  in  all  countries 
ancient  and  modern,  and  showing  the  effect  which  governmental  school  systems 
have  had  upon  the  destiny  of  nations, ^ 

CHAPTER  n. 

The  Law  as  to  Religion  in  Schools.— This  chapter  contains  the  old  English  and 
colonial  laws  relative  to  the  subject,  and  gives  a  succinct  legal  history  (all  taken 
from  law  books  and  court  records)  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  "  religious  liberty  " 
in  this  country, 2S 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Law  as  to  Religion  in  Schools. — In  this  chapter  the  laws  of  the  several 
States,  now  in  force,  are  carefully  explained  and  cited, 45 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Law  as  to  Corporal  Pcotshment — Parent  and  Child, 64 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Law  as  to  Corporal  Punishment  —  Teacher  and  Pupil, 70 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Law  as  to  Pctnishing  for  Misconduct  out  of  School, 93 

CHAPTER  VIL 
The  Law  as  to  the  Proper  Instrument  to  be  used  in  Punishing, 116 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Law  as  to  the  Right  of  Parents  to  Interfere  with  the  rules  or  the  methods 
of  discipline  adopted  in  schools, 119 

CHAPTER  IX 
The  Law  as  to  the  Teacher's  Morality, 136 


)i  769420 


"  'Tis  best  to  make  the  law  our  friend. 
And  patiently  await : 
Keep  yonr  side  good,  and  you  are  sure 
To  conquer    soon  or  late.' 


AiUTHOR^s     Preface. 


To  members  of  tlie  legal  profession  wlio  are  at  all  interested  in 
schools,  this  little  work  will  be  found  convenient  at  least.  To  all 
others  it  will  be  found  more  or  less  instructite.  It  is  sent  out,  how- 
ever, on  a  higher  mission,  for  which  it  has  with  great  care  been  ex- 
pressly prepared,  and  which  is  explained  elsewhere.  For  giving 
to  the  public  a  handsome  little  volume  full  of  useful  and  reliable 
information  and  at  a  low  price,  no  apology  is  deemed  necessary. 

The  school-girl  gathers  flowers  in  the  garden  or  on  the  wayside, 
and  makes  a  bouquet ;  the  author  gathers  facts  wherever  he  can 
find  them,  and  makes  a  book.  If  the  bouquet  is  beautiful  and  the 
book  useful,  it  is  enough.  Had  the  flowers  been  of  the  girl's  OAvn 
manufacture,  the  bouquet  would  have  been  without  fragrance  ;  and 
had  the  book  contained  but  the  ideas,  opinions,  and  theories  of  the 
author,  it  might  have  been  worthless.  Theories  that  have  been 
proved,  facts  that  have  been  established,  and  laws  that  have  been 
authoritatively  exi^lained — these  are  better  material  for  a  book,  if 
properly  arranged,  than  would  be  thoughts  of  the  author's  own 
coining,  even  though  he  may  be  "  vdse  in  his  own  conceit."  Be- 
sides, to  make  use  of  the  language  of  others  is  but  to  hack  opinion 
by  mitlwrity. 

New- York,  January,  1867. 


JiEAR  THE    Children   Pleading. 


I, 

"Give  us  light  amid  our  darkness, 
Let  us  know  tlie  good  from  ill  ; 
Hate  us  not  for  all  our  blindness : 
Love  us,  lead  us,  sIioav  us  kindness, 
Tou  can  make  its  icliat  you  will." 

11. 

"  We  are  willing,  we  are  ready ; 

We  would  learn,  if  you  would  teach  ; 
We  have  hearts  that  yearn  to  duty ; 
We  have  minds  alive  to  beauty  ; 
Soids  that  any  height  can  reach." 


THE 


lAWTEPt  U  THE  SCHOOL-ROOM. 


CHAPTER    I. 

OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS,  AND  GOVERNMENTS. 

Sec.  1.  China. — In  no  country  of  the  world  is  educa- 
tion so  general  as  in  China.  The  course  of  instruction 
begins  in  the  family,  Avhere  the  boys  are  taught  to  enu- 
merate objects,  to  count  to  the  number  of  ten  thousand, 
and  to  reverence  their  parents  and  ancestors  by  a  minute 
ceremonial.  At  the  age  of  five  or  six  years  they  are 
sent  to  school.  On  entering  the  hall  the  pupil  makes 
obeisance  first  to  the  holy  Confucius,  and  then  to  his 
master.  A  lesson  learned  in  grammar,  history,  ethics, 
mathematics,  or  astronomy,  according  to  the  proficiency 
of  the  student,  is  followed  by  the  morning  repast ;  after 
which  the  day  is  spent  in  copying,  learning  by  heart, 
and  reciting  select  passages  of  literature.  Before  de- 
parture in  the  evening,  a  part  of  the  piipils  relate  some 
events  of  ancient  history,  which  are  explained  by  the 
master ;  others  unite  in  singing  an  ancient  ode,  which 
is  sometimes  accompanied  by  a  symbolic  dance.     They 


8        OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

leave  the  hall  with  the  same  obeisances  with  which  they 
enter  it,  and  on  reaching  home,  reverentially  salute  the 
domestic  spirits,  and  their  ancestors,  parents,  and  rel- 
atives, A  higher  course  of  instruction  is  provided  in 
universities  under  the  surveillance  of  the  state.  One  of 
these  exists  in  most  of  the  large  cities,  and  the  most 
advanced  of  them  is  the  imperial  college  in  Pekin, 
Though  the  government  seems  to  foster  directly  only 
the  higher  branches,  by  supporting  colleges  in  the  large 
cities  and  provincial  capitals,  while  the  primary  schools 
are  sustained  only  by  municipalities  or  individuals,  the 
knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  is  all  but 
universal.  The  rules  and  regulations  for  the  education 
of  children  and  the  prosecution  of  studies  laid  down  in 
the  book  of  rites  are  excellent,  notwithstanding  their 
great  minuteness.  Distinction  in^yuhlic  life  is  attained 
only  hy  scholarsJdp.  There  are  four  literary  degrees. 
Tlie  examinations  which  the  aspirants  to  public  honors 
have  to  pass  are  very  severe.  The  unsuccessful  candi- 
dates are  numbered  by  hundreds  of  thousands.  The 
education  of  girls  is  neglected,  but  the  daughters  of  the 
wealthy  are  generally  taught  to  read,  write,  sing,  and 
sometimes  to  make  verses.  Literary  attainments,  how- 
ever, are  considered  creditable  to  a  woman,  and  the  num- 
ber of  authoresses  is  by  no  means  small.  The  daughters 
of  learned  men  are  instructed  in  music,  poetry,  elocution, 
etc.  No  religion  is  taught  in  the  common  schools.  The 
stress  that  is  laid  upon  an  education  in  China  by  the 
government  can  hardly  be  exaggerated.    As  has  been 


AND  GOVERNMENTS.  9 

stated,  all  persons  avIio  can  not  pass  the  several  examina- 
tions and  finally  obtain  the  highest  degree  of  scholarship 
attainable  in  tlie  schools  are  forever  shut  out  from  par- 
ticipating in  the  public  honors  of  the  empire.  But 
when  this  degree  is  once  attained  by  a  person,  no  matter 
how  loio  may  have  been  his  origin^  he  is  regarded  with 
veneration  by  the  people,  and  is  eligible  to  the  highest 
office  in  the  state.  It  is  easily  seen,  therefore,  how  so 
great  a  veneration  for  learning  has  come  to  be  enter- 
tained by  the  people,  and  how  the  government  contrives 
to  secure  the  advantage  of  a  common  school  education 
to  all,  without  directly  contributing  toward  their  main- 
tenance and  support.     (N^.  A.  Cyc.) 

But  a  common  school  education  or  even  a  collegiate 
education,  which  means  only  the  acquisition  of  a  certain 
amount  of  dry  knowledge,  and  in  which  all  the  finer  feel- 
ings of  our  nature  are  left  undeveloped,  is  so  much  less 
than  what  ought  to  be  accomplished  in  the  process  of 
educating  that  it  is  far  from  being  satisfactory,  to  say 
the  least.  It  is  the  business  of  education  not  only  to 
transmit  and  interpret  to  the  new  generation  the  ex- 
perience of  the  past,  and  thereby  enable  each  successive 
generation  to  increase  and  imjDrove  this  inheritance,  and 
to  bring  up  the  citizens  in  the  spirit  of  the  government ; 
but  there  is  a  higher  and  nobler  duty  for  education  to 
perform.  It  must  enlarge  tlie  affections  ;  control,  with- 
out smothering,  the  emotions ;  subdue  the  passions ;  and 
eradicate,  so  far  as  is  in  its  power,  the  wrong  propensi- 
ties ;  it  must  watch  with  ceaseless  vigilance  for  the  first 


10  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

appearance  of  pride,  obstinacy,  malice,  envy,  vanity,  cruel- 
ty, revenge,  anger,  lying,  and  their  kindred  vices,  and, 
by  steadfjxst  and  nnwearied  assiduity,  it  must  strive 
to  extirpate  them  before  they  have  gained  firmness  by 
age  or  vigor  by  indulgence.  (Wayland.)  Whether  the 
Chinese  system  of  education  meets  with  commendable 
success  in  accomplishing  these  essential  ends  of  every 
useful  system  of  human  development  or  not,  it  is 
hardly  safe  to  say.  Our  knowledge  of  China  and  the 
Chinese  is  not  by  any  means  perfect  as  yet.  A  country 
seven  times  as  large  as  France,  containing  nearly  half 
the  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  and  having  more  densely 
crowded  and  populous  cities  than  any  other  country  on 
the  face  of  the  earth :  a  country,  nevertheless,  in  which 
street-fights,  assaxilts,  and  murders  are  almost  unknown ; 
where  the  violent  and  gladiatorial  sports  of  what  are 
sometimes  thought  more  civilized  countries  are  held  in 
contempt ;  where  duels  are  utterly  unknown,  and  a  re- 
sort to  force  is  considered  a  proof  of  an  inferior  kind  of 
civilization  ;  where  women  are  not  allowed  to  cast  ofi"  the 
natural  modesty  of  the  sex  and  follow  the  brazen  if  not 
profligate  life  of  the  stage  performer ;  where  some  of  the 
most  excellent  moral  precepts  known  to  modern  times 
have  been  universally  inculcated  from  a  period  far  ante- 
rior to  the  Christian  era  ;  where  ai'e  found  the  oldest  of 
all  known  books,  and  a  literature  the  most  ancient,  most 
consistent,  most  varied,  and  most  voluminous  of  all :  a 
people  Avith  an  iminterrupted  history  running  back  for 
nearly  five  thousand  years,  (2207  b.c.,)  and  an  empire 


A^D  GOVERNMENTS.  11 

that  would  seem  to  have  been  founded  so  long  ago  as 
2650  B.C.,  but  which  at  all  events  has  existed  longer 
than  any  other  empii-e,  government,  or  principality  since 
the  world  began  :  a  country  Avith  such  a  history,  and  of 
such  a  character,  ought  not  to  be  judged  and  condemned 
by  the  character  and  conduct  of  its  cast-off  adventurers 
who  come  to  our  distant  shores  perhaps  as  fugitives 
from  justice.  Xor  should  we  give  credit  to  all  the  state- 
ments of  those  few  learned  Europeans  who  have  had  a 
glimpse  of  the  edge  of  the  Chinese  character,  and  no 
more,  but  who  have  nevertheless  assumed  to  tell  us  all 
about  the  Celestial  Empire.  Men  of  great  learning  are 
notoriously  unfit  for  the  freedom  and  familiarity  which 
alone  afford  an  acquaintance  with  the  every-day  man- 
ners and  customs  of  a  people.  They  can  thoroughly  ex- 
amine manuscripts,  books,  libraries,  systems  of  educa- 
tion, and  forms  of  government,  and  on  these  subjects  we 
may  safely  credit  them ;  but  when  they  begin  to  speak 
of  the  Chinese  mind,  character,  and  habits,  except  as 
these  appear  in  the  laws  and  literature  of  their  country, 
then  it  may  be  well  to  doubt,  and  to  ask  what  facilities 
each  individual  writer  had  for  observation,  how  well  he 
was  calculated  by  nature  to  improve  these  facilities,  and 
how  he  did  actually  improve  them.  Most  foreigners, 
especially  if  they  do  not  understand  our  language,  have 
to  be  in  our  country  a  long  time  before  they  can  fully  ex- 
plain our  government,  our  laws,  our  habits,  our  manners, 
our  virtues,  and  our  vices.  It  is  an  easy  thing  for  some 
writers  to  imagine  that  they  have  seen  all  in  seeing  one, 


12  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

and  there  are  those  even  who,  seeing  many,  see  none  cor- 
rectly. We  liave,  therefore,  come  to  the  conchision  that 
our  knowledge  of  China  and  the  Chinese  is  as  yet  too 
imperfect  to  justify  us  in  condemning  the  Chinese  system 
of  education,  as  some  very  learned  men  have  heretofore 
done. 

The  Chinese  are  proud  of  their  country  and  of  their 
civilization,  which  was  already  flourishing  at  a  time 
when  the  Christian  nations  were  still  hidden  in  the  dark- 
ness of  barbarism.  This  national  pride  comes,  at  least,  as 
naturally  to  them  as  to  those  nations  whom  we  are  wont 
to  call  civilized.  Consideiing  that  China  contains  near- 
ly one  half  the  population  of  the  globe,  and  that  the 
kingdoms  or  empires  constituting  the  so-called  "great 
powers "  can,  in  point  of  territorial  extent  and  popula- 
tion, scarcely  compare  with  single  provinces  of  the  Chi- 
nese empire :  considering,  also,  that  with  the  exception  of 
steam-engines  and  electric  telegraphs,  there  is  scarcely 
any  great  invention  of  modern  times  which  has  not  been 
in  use  among  the  Chinese  for  many  centuries ;  that  jjop- 
ular  education  is  more  general  and  the  social  structure 
more  firmly  settled  there  than  in  any  other  country: 
when  these  facts  are  duly  considered,  the  apparent  over- 
bearing demeanor  and  narrow-mindedness  of  the  Chinese 
in  regard  to  foreigners  may  not  appear  in  altogether  so 
unfavorable  a  light,  especially  since  we  ourselves  are  so 
^\)t  to  assmne  a  sujjeriority  over,  and  to  regard  with  a 
certain  kind  of  contempt,  most  foreigners  who  come 
imong  us.     It  is  probable  that  a  more  intimate  inter- 


AND    GOVERNMENTS.  13 

course  with  the  Chinese  wouhl  materially  modify  the  un- 
favorable impression  of  them  which  now  so  generally 
prevails  among  Christian  nations.  "  Their  civilization," 
says  Ritter,  "has  been  developed  under  peculiar  forms 
and  influences,  and  must  be  comj^ared  to,  rather  than 
he  judged  by,  that  of  Europeans  ;  the  dissimilarity  is 
as  Avide,  perhaps,  as  can  possibly  exist  between  two 
races  of  beings  having  the  same  common  nature  and 
wants,  A  people  by  whom  some  of  the  most  important 
inventions  of  modern  Europe  were  anticipated,  (such  as 
the  compass,  porcelain,  gunpowder,  paper,  printing,)  and 
were  known  and  practiced  many  centuries  earlier ;  who 
probably  amount  to  more  than  400,000,000,  united  in  one 
system  of  manners,  letters,  and  policy;  whose  cities  and 
capitals  rival  in  numbers  the  greatest  metro^iolises  of 
any  age;  who  have  not  only  covered  the  earth  but  the 
waters  with  towns  and  streets  ;  such  a  nation  must  occu- 
py a  conspicuous  place  in  the  history  of  mankind,  and 
the  study  of  their  character  and  condition  commends 
itself  to  every  well-wisher  of  his  race."  There  is  no  na- 
tion of  Europe  that  is  any  thing  more  than  a  pigmy  by 
the  side  of  China.  England  leads  all  other  European  na- 
tions in  commerce ;  but  there  is  a  greater  amount  of  ton- 
nage belonging  to  the  Chinese  than  to  all  other  nations 
combined.  Prussia  is  supposed  to  have  one  of  the  best 
educational  systems  in  Europe;  but  there  is  no  school 
system  in  Europe  that  has  stood  the  test  of  two  hundred 
years  even,  and  the  Chinese  system  has  stood  the  test  of 
more  than  two  thousand  years.     The  Chinese  are  not  a 


14  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEjIS, 

fighting  people,  and  consequently  in  the  Christian  art 
of  killing  men  they  are  doubtless  behind  the  age.  Al- 
though our  knowledge  of  them  is  not  perfect,  we  think 
it  safe  to  attribute  to  their  system  of  education  their 
great  adhesiveness,  jDrosiJerity,  and  importance  as  a  peo- 
l^le,  and  their  wonderful  stability,  antiquity,  and  consist- 
ency as  a  nation. 

Sec.  2.  Ancient  Egypt,  the  land  of  luxury,  letters,  and 
libraries,  was  a  government  good  in  many  respects,  but 
without  a  system  of  schools  for  the  people,  and  it  long 
since  passed  away.  Persia,  the  land  of  flowery  fancy 
and  princely  profligacy,  occasionally  had  a  ruler  who 
placed  great  stress  upon  the  proper  education  of  his  own 
children,  and  thus  a  Cyrus  was  given  to  history;  but 
the  Persian  emj^ire  was  a  government  without  a  system 
of  education  for  the  peojile,  and  it  fell  to  pieces  so  long 
ago  that  it  is  hardly  mentioned  now  except  in  ancient  his- 
tory. Even  the  Hebrew  nation,  God's  chosen  people,  not- 
withstanding all  that  has  been  said  and  written  about 
"  the  schools  of  the  prophets,"  had,  as  a  nation,  no  schools 
and  no  school  system  worthy  of  the  name.  The  "  stifi"- 
necked  "  fathers  wei'c  indeed  commanded  to  teach  the  laio 
to  their  children ;  but  so  far  as  we  know,  they  did  this  Avith- 
out  supervision  and  in  their  own  way,  if  at  all.  So  from 
generation  to  generation,  notwithstanding  the  good  men 
God  sent  among  them,  they  were  a  "  stifl'-necked  and  re- 
bellious people."  And  the  illustrious  throne  upon  which 
sat  David  and  Solomon,  even  this  fell  because  it  was  not 
supported  by  a  system  of  national  education  for  the  peo- 


AND   GOVERNMENTS.  15 

pie.  There  were  iu  Greece  great  philosophers  and 
schools,  but  they  were  entirely  independent  of  and  sep- 
arate from  the  machinery  of  government.  The  spirit  of 
inquiry  and  the  thirst  for  knowledge  that  might  have 
been  turned  to  the  state's  advantage  and  secured  its  sta- 
bility was  left  to  individual  enterprise ;  so  there  was  no 
harmony  of  thought,  no  unanimity  of  purjDose,  and  the 
Grecian  republics  have  long  since  disappeared  from  the 
catalogue  of  nations.  Even  the  once  mighty  and  pow- 
erful Rome  was  left  to  the  same  chance,  and  her  "  de- 
cline and  fall "  may  be  attributed  to  the  same  cause.  In 
no  country  of  antiquity,  except  China,  was  there  any 
governmental  scheme  for  the  education  of  all  classes. 
Sparta  under  Lycurgus  came  near  to  it,  but  the  educa- 
tion imparted  by  the  state  was  mamly  j^hysical,  and  did 
not  reach  the  peasant  classes.  The  bishops  and  clergy 
were  the  first  in  Europe  to  recognize  the  duties  of  the 
authorities  to  educate  the  young.  The  Council  of  Vai- 
6on  (a.d.  529)  recommended  the  establishment  of  pub- 
lic schools.  In  800  a  synod  at  Mentz  ordered  that  the 
parochial  priests  should  have  schools  in  the  towns  and 
villages,  that  "the  little  children  of  all  the  faithful 
should  learn  letters  from  them."  A  council  at  Rome 
in  836  ordered  that  there  should  be  three  kinds  of 
schools  throughout  Christendom.  The  Council  of  Lat- 
eran  in  11*79  ordained  the  establishment  of  a  grammar 
school  in  every  cathedral,  for  the  gratuitous  instruction 
of  the  poor.  This  ordinance  was  enlarged  and  enforced 
by  the  Council  of  Lyons  in  1245.     Thus  originated  the 


16  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

European  and  American  popular  or  common  schools  as 
an  outgrowth  of  the  Christian  Church,  Martin  Luther, 
amid  his  arduous  and  anxious  labors,  found  time  to  do 
good  service  to  the  cause  of  jDopular  education.  In  1524, 
he  wrote  "  an  address  to  the  common  councils  of  all  the 
cities  of  Germany  in  behalf  of  Christian  schools,"  in 
Avhich  occurs  the  following  passage :  "  It  is  a  grave  and 
serious  thing,  afiecting  the  interest  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  and  of  all  the  loorld,  that  we  apply  ourselves  to 
the  "work  of  aiding  and  instructing  the  young.  If  so 
much  he  expended  every  year  for  weapons  of  war,  roads, 
dams,  and  countless  other  things  of  the  sort  for  the 
safety  and  prosperity  of  a  city,  why  should  not  we  ex- 
pend as  much  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  ignorant  youths 
to  provide  them  with  skillful  teachers  ?"  In  1526,  he  wrote 
to  the  Elector  of  Saxony  as  follows :  "  Since  we  are  all 
required,  and  especially  the  magistrates,  above  all  other 
things,  to  educate  the  youth  who  are  born  and  are  grow- 
ing up  among  us,  and  to  train  them  \\])  in  the  fear  of  God 
and  in  the  ways  of  virtue,  it  is  needful  that  we  have 
schools.  If  the  parents  will  not  reform,  they  must  go 
their  way  to  ruin ;  but  if  the  young  are  neglected  and 
left  without  education,  it  is  the  fault  of  the  state ;  and 
the  effect  will  be  that  the  country  loill  sicarni  with  vile 
and  lawless  people ;  so  that  our  safety  no  less  than  the 
command  of  God  requireth  us  to  foresee  and  ward  off 
the  evil."  He  asserts,  also,  that  the  government,  "  as  the 
natural  guardian  of  all  the  young,"  has  the  right  to  com- 
pel the  people  to  support  schools.     "  What  is  necessary 


Al^D  GOVERNMENTS.  17 

to  tlie  -well-being  of  a  state,"  said  lie,  "  should  be  sup- 
plied by  those  who  enjoy  the  privilege  of  such  state. 
Now,  nothing  is  more  necessary  than  the  training  of 
those  who  are  to  come  after  us  and  bear  rule,"  The  mag- 
nificent organization  of  schools  to  which  Germany  owes 
so  much  of  her  present  fame  is  clearly  the  legitimate 
result  of  the  labors  of  Luther. 

Before  the  kingdom  of  Prussia  existed,  except  as  tho 
Mark  of  Brandenburg,  (1540,)  visitors  were  appointed  to 
inspect  the  town  schools  of  the  electorate,  with  express 
directions  to  report  in  relation  to  the  measures  deemed 
necessary  for  their  improvement.  Other  action  was 
taken  afterward  in  the  same  direction;  and  when  the 
kingdom  of  Prussia  was  established,  the  duty  of  the 
state  to  take  care  of  and  provide  for  the  education  of  its 
rising  generation  became  one  of  the  main  foundation 
princii^les  of  the  government.  Prussia,  we  believe,  was 
the  first  government  in  Europe  founded  on  this  princi- 
ple, which  has  since  been  adopted  by  all  of  them,  except, 
perhaps,  England.  The  schools  in  Austria  are  sectarian, 
and  consequently  not  more  than  half  the  children  in  the 
empire  attend  them.  In  Sweden,  for  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years,  the  ability  to  read  and  wi'ite  has  been  indis- 
pensable to  the  assumption  of  the  functions  of  citizenship. 
Elementary  education  is  universal  in  Sweden.  England 
is  well  supplied  with  institutions  for  secondary  and  su- 
perior education,  and  for  the  promotion  of  science,  liter- 
ature, and  the  arts ;  but  all  these  are  supported  chiefly  by 
tuition  fees,  private  contribution,  or  ancient  endowments. 


18  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

There  is  a  dense  mass  of  popular  ignorance  upon  which 
these  institutions  shed  no  light,  except  to  make  the  dark- 
ness more  yisible  by  contrast.  The  neglect  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  provide  schools  for  the  masses  has  filled 
England  with  the  most  brutal  and  ignorant  populace  in 
Europe.  In  1851,  the  returns  of  708  schools  were  signed 
by  the  master  or  mistress  with  a  inark^  the  teacher  not 
knowing  how  to  write ;  these  were  what  are  called  "  in- 
ferior schools."  But  the  same  strange  fact  occurred  in 
the  returns  of  thirty-five  public  schools,  most  of  them 
having  endowments. 

Sec.  3.  The  various  plans  adopted  by  governments 
for  fostering  education  are  reducible  into  four  general 
classes,  which  we  will  call  the  Chinese,  the  Hebrew, 
the  Prussian,  and  the  American.  I.  The  Chinese  plan 
consists  in  establishing  a  system  of  excellent  graded 
schools,  and  making  it  necessary  to  pass  through  all 
the  grades  with  honor  in  order  to  acquire  eligibility  to 
office  in  the  state.  The  direct  results  of  this  plan  are : 
(l.)  to  make  a  thorough  education  absolutely  necessary  to 
every  one  who  would  share  in  the  honors  and  emolu- 
ments of  the  government;  (2.)  to  secure  for  government 
officials  men  who  are  all  highly  and  similarly  educated ; 
and  (3.)  to  make  education  a  high  honor  in  itself,  and  an 
acknowledged  badge  of  superiority  as  well  as  a  social 
and  political  advantage.  The  Chinese  educational  sys- 
tem embraces  a  most  complete  course  of  eminently  oia- 
tional  instruction,  and  is  made  to  stand  out  in  bold  prom- 
inence, so  that  it  may  strike  the  minds  of  all  in  such  a 


AND  GOVERNMENTS.  19 

way  as  to  leave  a  definite,  forcible,  and  lasting  impres- 
sion. It  carefully  avoids  all  vexed  questions,  such  as  re- 
ligion, for  example ;  and  without  taking  upon  itself  the 
championship  of  any  thing  that  might  prejudice  any  class 
against  it,  it  marshals  all  its  forces  and  advances  only 
for  the  accomplishment  of  its  own  purposes.  It  does  not 
choose  to  lessen  its  importance  or  waste  its  energies  by 
dividing  its  honors  and  multiplying  its  objects,  but  ad- 
heres faithfully  to  its  legitimate  aims ;  and  the  result  is 
the  most  stable  government,  and  perhaps  the  greatest, 
that  has  ever  appeared  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  II. 
The  Hebrew  plan  was  to  establish  a  government  with- 
out a  system  of  education,  or  to  establish  a  religion  and 
apply  the  whole  force  of  the  government  to  the  support 
of  it.  Some  of  the  Hebrews  were  unquestionably 
learned,  and  others  of  them  may  have  been ;  but  there 
was  nothing  in  their  laws  or  government,  and  there  is 
nothing  in  their  history,  to  lead  us  to  suppose  that  their 
government  as  such,  or  they  as  a  peojile,  gave  any 
prominence  to  education,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  term 
is  now  used.  They  seem  to  have  left  the  science  of  hu- 
man development  to  take  care  of  itself,  or  to  "  private 
enterprise  "  or  "  free  competition,"  as  in  England.  The 
most  liberal  and  comprehensive  minds  of  England,  see- 
ing a  warning  in  the  history  of  other  nations,  have  for  a 
long  time  been  urging  upon  the  government  the  import- 
ance of  a  national  system  of  public  schools.  But  what 
these  men  desire  and  demand  is  a  system  of  schools 
which  shall  be  free  from  sectarianism ;  a  thing  which  is 


20  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

certainly  most  desirable,  but  which  is  not  to  be  easily 
obtained  from  a  government  with  an  established  church. 
III.  The  Prussian  educational  system  is  purely  govern- 
mental, emanating  solely  from  a  minister  of  instruction 
immediately  dependent  on  the  crown.  The  universities, 
the  gymnasia,  and  the  primary  schools  are  all  under  laws 
and  regulations  which  proceed  respectively  from  the 
crown,  from  the  provincial  government,  and  from  the 
communes.  Every  child  in  the  kingdom  is  obliged,  under 
pains  and  penalties,  to  attend  school  at  least  from  the 
age  of  seven  to  that  fourteen ;  and  the  result  is,  that  the 
Prussian  peojile  are  efficiently  educated  throughout  the 
entire  community,  and  that  the  universities  send  forth  a 
large  body  of  highly  educated  men.  This  scheme  has 
given  to  Prussia  some  prominence  as  a  nation,  and  it  has 
to  a  considerable  extent  nationcdlzed  the  peojsle.  But 
there  would  seem  to  be  something  still  wanting;  for, 
notwithstanding  their  vast  and  powerful  machinery  for 
popular  instruction,  the  Prussians  have  not  taken  a  lead- 
ing part  in  civilization.  Horace  Mann  supposed  that 
this  partial  want  of  success  in  the  Prussian  school  sys- 
tem arose  from  the  fact  that  when  the  children  once 
leave  school  they  have  few  opportunities  of  applying  the 
knowledge  or  exercising  the  faculties  which  have  been 
acquired  and  developed  there.  This,  however,  is  only 
the  result  of  the  cause,  and  not  the  cause  itself  A  gov- 
ernment that  reserves  its  highest  honors  for  a  privileged 
aristocracy,  and  at  the  same  time  forces  the  young  to 
attend  its  schools,  not  for  their  advantage,  but  for  the 


AND  GOVERNMENTS.  21 

advantage  of  the  goveriiment  and  its  favorites,  may  be 
able  to  boast  that  all  its  people  can  read,  write,  and 
cipher;  bat  at  the  same  time  it  must  admit  that,  while 
bestowing  this  limited  amount  of  knowledge,  it  carefully 
smothered  or  crushed  in  them  all  their  hoj^es,  so  natural 
to  youth,  for  distinction.  In  a  government  having  an 
hereditary  aristocracy,  people  of  humble  origin  are  pur 
posely  kept  in  obscurity ;  and  they  have,  and  can  have, 
but  few,  if  any,  incentives  for  distinguished  zeal.  In 
such  a  government,  those  wdio  have  the  misfortune  to 
be  born  lowly  can  by  no  efforts  of  theirs  change  their 
status,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  from  bad  to  Avorse,  for  ambi- 
tion there  is  treason.  A  people  with  their  natural  in- 
stincts and  ideas  thus  dwarfed,  and  thus  forbidden  to 
give  birtli  to  new  hopes  or  new  aspiz'atious,  could  hardly 
be  expected  to  take  a  leading  part  in  civilization.  Nor 
could  they  be  expected  to  carry  out  of  the  scliool-room 
any  particular  fondness  for  the  education  which  they  may 
have  received  there.  The  Prussian  system  of  education 
is  defective  because  it  does  not  imj^art  new  hopes  and  de- 
sires to  the  young ;  and  because  it  is  defective  in  this  re- 
spect the  Prussians  have  not  taken  a  leading  part  in  civil- 
ization. IV.  The  plan  which  we  have  called  the  American 
plan  is  that  system  of  education  Avhich  has  been  gener- 
ally adopted  in  the  United  States.  It  is  quite  different 
from  any  thing  that  has  yet  been  explained.  There  is  no 
other  country  in  the  world  which  contains  a  i:)opulation 
composed  of  such  heterogeneous  elements  as  this.  The 
character  of  the  original  settlers  has  left  its  impress  to  a 


22  OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  -SYSTEMS, 

certain  extent  upon  their  descendants,  though  in  many- 
parts  of  the  country  all  such  distinctive  traces  have  been 
obliterated  by  the  streams  of  subsequent  immigration 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  form  of  government, 
too,  is  peculiar.  There  are  really  as  many  governments 
as  there  are  separate  States ;  but  these  for  certain  pur- 
j)0ses  are  bound  together,  by  a  perpetual  league,  into  one 
general  government.  "  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the 
United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it 
to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  resj^ectively  or  to 
the  people."  (Const,  of  U.  S.  art.  10,  Amend.)  The 
general  government  does  not  seem  to  have  been  charged 
or  intrusted  with  the  education  of  the  people.  It  is, 
however,  authorized  "to  promote  tbe  progress  of  science 
and  useful  arts,  by  securing  for  limited  times  to  authors 
and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writ- 
ings and  discoveries."  (Const,  of  U.  S.  art.  1,  sec.  8, 
subcl.  8.)  But  the  very  first  principle  of  many  which  was 
enunciated  by  the  delegates  of  the  American  i^eojile, 
when  they  met  to  take  the  first  step  toward  forming 
a  general  government,  and  the  one  which  seems  most 
likely  to  control  the  action  and  shape  the  destiny  of  the 
republic,  was,  that  "  all  men  are  created  equal."  After- 
ward, in  fonning  a  constitution  for  their  government, 
the  people,  mindful  of  the  history  of  other  nations,  re- 
fused to  permit  the  general  government  to  constitute  or 
establish  a  privileged  class  among  them.  "  No  title  of 
nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States."  (Const, 
of  U.  S.  art.  1,  sec.  9,  subd.  7.)     Thus  secured  in  their 


AND  GOVERNMENTS.  23 

reserved  rights,  the  people  of  each  State  have  a  govern- 
ment of  theii-  own,  a  State  legislature,  for  the  enactment 
of  such  laws  as  they  may  deem  necessary  for  the  full 
enjoyment  of  their  rights,  and  as  are  not  in  conflict 
with  the  constitution  of  the  general  government.  The 
right  to  educate  the  people  was  not  delegated  to  the  gen- 
eral government,  consequently  this  right  remains  with 
the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  is  exercised  by 
them,  if  at  all,  in  their  legislatures.  There  has  been 
much  legislation  in  the  several  States  on  this  subject. 
All  of  them  have  felt  it  their  duty  to  encourage  educa- 
tion in  some  way.  In  many  of  them  a  most  liberal  and 
efficient  system  of  free  schools  is  established,  and  this 
will  doubtless  soon  be  the  case  in  all.  These  schools  are 
in  the  main  well  conducted,  and  kej)t  entirely  free  from 
sectarianism.  The  attendance  is  rarely  compulsory,  as 
in  Prussia;  nor  can  the  teachers  incite  their  pupils  to 
greater  exertion  by  reminding  them  that,  if  they  pass 
through  all  the  degrees  with  honor,  the  government  will 
reward  and  the  people  will  venerate  them,  as  in  China. 
But  in  all  these  schools  the  puj^ils  are  taught  that  a 
good  education  is  its  own  reward ;  that  with  it  happi- 
ness, wealth,  honor,  and  political  preferment  are  all  possi- 
ble ;  while  without  it  a  person  labors  under  a  thousand 
disadvantages,  no  matter  Avhat  he  imdertakes,  all  his  life 
long ;  and  he  will  be  fortunate  indeed  if  he  is  not  often 
the  object  of  ridicule  and  contempt.  The  pupils  are  re- 
minded that,  if  they  will  but  make  themselves  competent 
and  worthy  to  hold  office,  even  the  highest  offices  and 


24        OF  SCHOOLS,  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS, 

honors  in  the  government  may  be  enjoyed  by  them.  In 
a  word,  the  teachers  take  the  yomig  minds  as  they  find 
them,  and  fill  them  with  the  hopes,  the  desires,  and  the 
aspirations  of  educated  and  refined  gentlemen,  or  at  least 
such  is  what  they  are  expected  to  do.  The  girls  are 
trained  and  taught  similarly.  They  are  filled  with  all 
the  ideas,  tastes,  and  aspirations  that  are  becoming  to  a 
true  womanhood.  Both  boys  and  girls  are  taught  not 
that  they  omist  go  to  school  because  the  state  wants  to 
nationalize  them,  as  in  Prussia,  but  that  they  ought  to 
go  to  school  for  their  own  good,  as  well  as  for  the  honor 
and  prosperity  of  the  state.  Except  in  one  or  two 
States,  they  are  not  warned  that  they  will  be  deprived  of 
exercising  the  functions  of  citizens,  as  in  Sweden,  unless 
they  have  a  certain  amount  of  education ;  but  their  edu- 
cation is  liberally  ^^rovided  for  by  the  State,  and  they  are 
sent  by  fond  parents  to  intelligent  teachers,  whose  duty 
it  is  to  awaken  their  young  minds  to  a  pi-oper  sense  of 
their  several  duties,  and  to  a  full  realization  of  what 
they  may  by  zealous  efibrts  reasonably  hope  to  achieve. 

"  Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime ; 
And,  departing,  leave  beliind  us 
Footprints  on  tlie  sands  of  time." 

Whether  the  Chinese  plan  of  giving  ofiice  and  honors 
to  the  thoroughly  educated  only,  or  the  American  plan 
of  giving  to  the  educated  no  honors  or  rewards  except 
such  as  they  earn  for  themselves  outside  of  the  schools, 


AND  GOVERNMENTS,  25 

is  the  better  one,  remains  for  time  to  decide.  The  Chinese 
plan  would  seem,  at  least,  to  have  given  stability  to 
the  government ;  but  this  would  also  seem  to  be  one  of 
the  results  of  the  American  plan,  for  not  a  single  State 
that  had  any  thing  worthy  of  the  name  of  a  system  of 
public  instruction  participated  in  the  recent  rebellion. 
Louisiana  might  be  excepte'd ;  but  her  system  was  not 
long  in  operation  before  the  troubles  began,  and  con- 
sequently it  can  not  be  blamed  for  what  followed. 
Education  is  the  cheap  defense  of  nations. 

Sec.  4.  Governments  for  the  most  part  have  not  been 
framed  on  models.  Their  parts  and  their  powers  in 
general  grev/  out  of  occasional  acts,  prompted  by  some 
urgent  expediency  or  some  private  interest,  which  in 
the  course  of  time  coalesced  and  hardened  into  iisages. 
These  usages  became  the  object  of  respect  and  the  guide 
of  conduct  long  befoi-e  they  wei'e  embodied  in  written 
laws.  Governments  are  but  societies  of  men  united  to- 
gether to  procure  their  mutual  safety  and  advantage; 
and  as  these  men  make  laws  by  which  they  are  them- 
selves to  be  governed,  they  naturally  make  such  laws  as 
will  accord  as  nearly  as  possible  with  their  own  manners 
and  tastes.  And  this  is  not  only  the  natural  but  the 
necessary  course  for  them  to  pursue.  For  it  is  a  maxim 
in  the  science  of  legislation  and  government  that  laics  are 
of  no  avail  without  manners.  That  is  to  say,  the  best 
intended  legislative  provisions  can  have  but  little  bene- 
ficial effect  at  first,  and  none  at  all  in   a  short  time, 

unless  they  are  congenial  to  the  disposition  and  habits, 
2 


26  OF  SCHOOLS,   SCHOOL   SYSTEMS, 

the  religious  pi'ejudices,  and  the  approved  immemorial 
usages  of  the  people  for  whom  they  were  enacted.    The 
blind  prejudices,  idiosyncrasies,  and  vices  of  each  par- 
ticular people,  as  well  as  their  advance  in  civilization, 
general  intelligence,  and  state-craft,  are  easily  ascertain- 
able from  an  examination  of  their  laws.     A  wise  govern- 
ment wishes   to    provide  against    the  perpetuation   of 
any  thing  that  may  be  in  its  organic  laws  having  a  ten- 
dency to  vice  or  weakness.     Consequently  the  most  suc- 
cessful, promising,  and  ejilightened  governments  of  the 
present  day,  while  they  despair  of  materially  altering  the 
manners  or  reforming  the  habits  of  the  older  members 
of  society,  have  a  tender  care  for  the  rising  generation, 
and  zealously  endeavor  to  teach  them,  at  an  early  age,  the 
manners  and  principles  wliich  are  thought  to  be  most 
conducive  to  the  happiness  of  the  citizen  and  the  prosj)er- 
ity  and  perpetuity  of  the  state.    In  the  natural  course  of 
things,  all  those  who,  by  the  laxity  or  depravity  of  their 
moral  instincts,  or  by  the  arrogance  of  spiritual  pride,  the 
vagaries  of  undisciplined  imaginations,  and  the  extrava- 
gances to  which  badly  balanced  intellects  may  be  led  in 
the  pursuit  of  ultimate  principles,  are  working  injury  to 
the  state,  will  soon  be  numbered  only  with  the  dead ;  and 
it  were  well  if  their  evil  manners  and  principles  were  bur- 
ied with  them.     Obstinate  manhood  may  blindly  adhere 
to  its  old  idols,  but  the  reaper  Avill  come  by  and  by  ;  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  idolater  and  his  brazen  images 
will  be  carried  away  together,  in  order  that  purer  shrines 
may  be  reared  and  nobler  objects  adored  by  those  who 


AND  GOVERNMENTS.  21 

are  to  come  after.     Toward  the  accomplishment  of  this 
great  end — the  symmetrical  development  of  the  intellec- 
tual powers  and  the  purification  of  the  manners  of  the 
masses — no  one  can  do  more  than  the  intelligent  and  con- 
scientious teacher.    To  refine  manners,  develop  thought, 
and  fill  young  souls  with  noble  aspirations  is  the  every- 
day duty  of  his  high  calling.      He  is  intrusted  by  the 
state  with  one  of  its  most  tender  cares,  and  it  looks  to 
him  almost  wholly  for  the  accomplishment  of  what  is 
really  its  highest  and  noblest  ambition — the  formation  of 
minds  such  as  will  enhance  its  society,  perfect  its  laws, 
and  adorn  its  history.    To  this  end  it  contributes  largely 
from  the  public  funds,  builds  a  comfortable  school-house 
in  every  one  of  its  neighborhoods,  carefully  selects  from 
its  most  exemplary  and  intellectual  young  men  and  wo- 
men a  teacher  for  each,  and  then  opens  the  doors  to  all 
equally,  showing  no  partiality* and  making  no  distinc- 
tions, but  inviting  all  to  come  and  enjoy  without  money 
and  without  price.    And  now,  after  all  this  tender  solici- 
tude and  generous  profusion,  the  state  lacks  no  confi- 
dence in  its  teachers ;  but,  placing  an  implicit  faith  in 
their  zeal,  it  takes  a  calm  survey  of  the  coming  centuries, 
and  beholding  generation  after  generation,  it  rejoices 
that  each  successive  one  will  be  wiser,  better,  and  hap- 
pier than  the  preceding. 


CHAPTER    II. 

OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS— AS  THE  LAW  WAS. 

"  True  I'eligion 
Is  always  mild,  propitious,  and  humble  ; 
Plays  not  tlie  tyrant,  plants  no  faith,  in  blood ; 
Nor  bears  destruction  on  lier  chariot-wlieels  : 
But  stoops  to  polish,  succor,  and  redress, 
And  builds  her  grandeAir  on  tJie  public  good." 

Sec.  1.  In  England,  in  the  time  of  Charles  II,,  all  per- 
sons were  prohibited  from  teaching  school, "  unless  they 
be  licensed  by  the  ordinary,  and  subscribe  a  declaration 
of  conformity  to  the  liturgy  of  the  Church,  and  reverently 
frequent  divine  service  established  by  the  laws  of  this 
kingdom."  (13  and  14  Car.  11.  c.  4;  17  Car.  II.  c.  2.) 
This  was  the  same  Charles  from  whom  Roger  Williams 
obtained  the  charter  for  Rhode  Island.  No  dissenter 
shall  hold  the  mastership  of  any  college  or  school  of 
royal  foundation  since  1  Will,  and  Maiy.  (19  Geo.  III. 
c.  44  ;  1  Mod.  3.)  A  schoolmaster  must  be  licensed  by  the 
bishop,  and  may  be  punished  in  the  si^iritual  courts  for 
keeping  a  school  without  a  license.  (Matthews  v.  Bur- 
dctt,  3  Salk.  318.)     It  is  not  our  purpose  to  explain  the 


OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS.  29 

law  of  England  fully  on  this  subject,  but  merely  to  show 
what  it  was  up  to  a  particular  time.  This  object  is  now 
accomplished. 

Sec.  2.  "  Congress  shall  make  no  law  res23ecting  the 
establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exer- 
cise thereof."  (U.  S.  Const,  art.  1  of  Amend.)  It 
would  seem  to  follow  from  this,  that  any  State  may  es- 
tablish a  religion,  and  cause  the  same  to  be  taught  in  its 
schools ;  for,  if  Congress  can  make  no  law  respecting  the 
establishment  of  religion,  it  can  make  no  law  prohibiting 
the  establishment  of  it.  It  is  entirely  within  the  power 
of  the  several  States^,  therefore,  to  establish  a  religion 
for  themselves  or  not,  just  as  they  may  deem  proj)er.  It 
follows,  also,  that  a  State  may  establish  a  religious  test 
for  teachers ;  and  this  may  be  done  for  teachers  of  private 
as  well  as  of  public  schools.  Whether  any  thing  of  this 
kind  has  been  done  is  a  question  which  can  be  answered 
only  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  laws  of  the  sev- 
eral States.  Believing  it  to  be  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  teachers  should  know  precisely  Avhat  is  and  is  not 
required  of  them  by  law  in  matters  of  religious  concern- 
ment, upon  which  the  consciences  of  men  everywhere  are 
so  tender,  and  Avhich  are  so  fruitful  in  likes  and  dislikes, 
disputes  and  contentions,  we  will  now  proceed  to  ex- 
plain the  law  of  the  several  States  on  this  point,  and  at 
the  same  time  give  a  legal  history  (gleaned  from  law 
records  only)  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  religious 
liberty  in  our  country. 

Sec.  3,  In  Massachusetts,  our  pious  Pilgrim  fathers 


30  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

thought  it  their  duty,  in  founding  a  state,  to  make  tne 
weak  in  faith  sound  by  feai*,  and  enacted  as  follows :  "  If 
any  person  within  this  jurisdiction  shall  broach  and 
maintain  any  damnable  heresies,  as  denying  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul  or  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  or  any 
sin  to  be  repented  of  in  the  regenerate,  or  any  evil  to  be 
done  by  the  outward  man  to  be  accounted  sin ;  or  shall 
deny  that  Christ  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  our  sins ;  or 
shall  affirm  that  we  are  not  justified  by  his  death  and 
righteousness,  but  by  our  owii  merit ;  or  shall  deny  the 
morality  of  the  fourth  commandment ;  or  shall  openly 
condemn  or  ojjpose  the  baptism  of  inftmts;  or  shall 
purposely  depart  the  congregation  at  the  administra- 
tion of  the  ordinance  of  baptism;  oi'  shall  deny  the 
ordinance  of  magistracy,  or  their  lawful  authority  to 
make  war  and  peace,  and  to  punish  the  outward  breaches 
of  the  first  table ;  or  shall  endeavor  to  seduce  others  to 
any  of  these  opinions — every  such  person,  lawfully  con- 
victed, shall  be  banished  this  jurisdiction.  JSfo  school- 
master shall  he  admitted  icJio  is  unsound  in  the  faith.'''' 
(Plant.  Laws,  1704,  pp.  44,  45,  89.)  These  laws  seem 
to  have  been  made  in  164G,  about  ten  years  after  the  ban- 
ishment of  Roger  Williams,  the  irrepx'essible  advocate  of 
religious  liberty.  The  Rev.  Roger  Williams  was  an 
Englishman  of  high  standing,  not  only  in  his  native 
country,  but  in  the  wilds  of  America.  In  1031,  dislik- 
ing the  formalities  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  seceded 
from  it  and  joined  himself  to  the  Dissenters,  and  fled  to 
this  country  to  avoid  the  persecutions  that  then  raged 


AS  THE  LAW  WAS.  -31 

violently  in  England;  civil  and  religious  liberty  were 
then  strangers  in  New-England,  and  Mr.  Williams  advo- 
cated them  with  an  intrepidity  that  awakened  the  atten- 
tion of  the  more  rigid  of  the  opposition  and  of  many  of 
his  friends.  On  his  arrival  in  tliis  country,  he  first  lo- 
cated himself  at  Boston,  hut  at  the  time  of  his  trial  re- 
sided at  Salem,  where  he  had  the  charge  of  a  large 
church  and  congregation,  who  esteemed  him  for  his 
strong  powers  of  mind,  highly  cultivated;  his  purity  of 
character  as  a  Christian  teacher ;  for  his  liberal  and  en- 
larged views  on  the  subject  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
With  his  accustomed  pious  frankness,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  advance  his  sentiments  unreservedly,  and  denied  the 
right  of  the  civil  magisti'ates  to  govern  or  legislate  on  ec- 
clesiastical affairs.  (Winthrop.)  Wliich  soon  caused  him 
to  be  arraigned,  and  he  was,  in  October,  1635,  tried  and 
sentenced  to  banishment  from  the  colony.  But  the  court 
who  had  so  unjustly  banished  him,  still  possessing  too 
much  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  to  drive  Mr.  Wil- 
liams at  that  season  of  the  year,  with  his  family,  into  the 
wilderness  at  the  mercy  of  tlie  savages,  gave  him  liberty 
to  remain  in  the  colony  until  the  next  spring,  upon  con- 
dition that  he  should  not  disseminate  his  doctrines  and 
opinions  to  their  citizens ;  which  favor  he  gladly  ac- 
cepted, and  remained  there  until  the  January  following ; 
when  he  was  infoi-med  that  his  accusers  were  about  to 
send  him  back  to  his  persecutors  in  England.  He  there- 
fore forthwith  made  his  escape  from  Salem,  in  the  midst 
of  winter,  and  fled  to  the  Indians  in  Rhode  Island,  where 


32  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

he  was  kindly  and  favorably  received  by  the  chief 
sachem  of  Mount  Hoidc,  who  made  him  a  grant  of  a  val- 
uable tract  of  land  at  Secimk  /  but  even  on  this  favored 
lot  of  his  refuge  he  was  not  long  suffered  to  remain,  but 
was  ordered  by  the  colonists  to  cross  the  river,  they 
claiming  the  lands  upon  which  he  Avas  then  located  as 
belonging  to  the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  He  accord- 
ingly in  the  s])ring  (with  his  servant)  crossed  the  river, 
where  he  once  more  j)lanted  himself,  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  present  city  of  Providence,  where  he 
resided  many  years,  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lord  to  protect  the  lives,  liberty,  and  property  of  his 
persecutors  in  the  colony  from  wliich  he  was  banished ; 
from  the  scalping-knife  and  tomahawk  of  the  ruthless 
savages,  over  whom  he  had  gained  an  influence  and 
control  by  his  kindness  to  them.  He  alone  was  enabled 
to  conciliate  the  angry  passions  and  revengeful  disposi- 
tions of  the  Indians  about  him,  and  save  the  massacre  of 
the  Massachusetts  colonists.  Mr.  Williams,  soon  after 
he  formed  his  colony  at  Providence,  became  law-giver 
and  minister  to  his  infant  colony,  and  formed  his  consti- 
tution upon  the  broadest  jirinciples  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  and  equal  rights,  and  was  the  first  governor  in 
North-America  "  who  held  liberty  of  conscience  to  be  the 
birthright  of  man."  (Blue  Law,  pp.  67, 08.)  "Whereas 
Mr.  Roger  Williams,  oiie  of  the  elders  of  the  church  of 
Salem,  hath  broached  and  divulged  divers  new  and  dan- 
gerous opinions  against  the  authority  of  magistrates,  as 
also  written  letters  of  defamation  both  of  mao'istrates 


AS  TEE  LAW  WAS.  33 

and  churches  here,  and  that  before  any  conviction,  and 
yet  maintaineth  the  same  without  retraction :  It  is  there- 
fore ordered,  that  the  said  Mr.  Williams  shall  depart 
out  of  this  jurisdiction  within  six  weeks  now  next  ensu- 
ing, which,  if  he  neglects  to  perform,  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  governor  and  two  of  the  magistrates  to  send  him 
to  some  place  out  of  this  jurisdiction,  not  to  return  any 
more,  without  license  from  the  court."  (Mass.  Records, 
1635.)  "  Richard  Waterman  being  found  erroneous,  heret- 
ical, and  obstinate,  it  Avas  ordered  that  he  should  be  de- 
tained prisoner  till  the  quarter  court  in  the  seventh 
month,  unless  five  of  the  magistrates  find  cause  to  send 
him  away,  which  if  they  do,  it  is  ordered,  he  shall  not 
return  within  this  jurisdiction  upon  ^x«";i  of  death.'''' 
(Mass.  Records,  1644.)  The  numerous  cases  of  banish- 
ment for  heresy  upon  those  ancient  records  recall  to  our 
mind  the  following  remark  of  a  learned  theologian :  "  To 
banish,  imprison,  starve,  hang,  and  burn  men  for  theii' 
religion  is  not  the  gospel  of  Christ,  but  the  gospel  of  the 
devil.  Where  persecution  begins,  Christianity  ends  ;  and 
if  the  name  of  it  remains,  the  spirit  is  gone."  (Jortin.) 
About  1657  it  was  ordered,  that  if  any  Quaker  or  Qua- 
kers shall  presume,  after  they  have  once  sufiered  what 
the  law  requireth,  to  come  into  this  jurisdiction,  every 
such  male  Quaker  shall,  for  the  first  ofiense,  have  one  of 
his  ears  act  off,  and  be  kept  at  work  in  the  house  of  cor- 
rection till  he  can  be  sent  away  at  his  own  charge ;  and 
for  the  second  oifense,  shall  have  the  other  ear  cut  off, 
and  be  kept  at  the  house  of  correction,  as  afoi'esaid. 


34  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

And  every  woman  Quaker,  that  hath  suiFerecl  the  law 
here,  that  shall  ^^I'csurae  to  come  into  this  jurisdiction, 
shall  be  severely  whij^ped,  and  kej^t  at  the  house  of  cor- 
rection at  work  till  she  be  sent  away  at  her  own  charge  ; 
and  so  also  for  her  coming  again,  she  shall  be  alike  used 
as  aforesaid.  And  for  every  Quaker,  he  or  she,  that 
shall  a  third  time  herein  again  offend,  they  shall  have 
their  tongues  hored  through  loith  a  hot  iron,  and  be  kept 
at  the  house  of  correction,  close  at  work,  till  they  be  sent 
away  at  their  own  charge." 

Sec.  4.  In  Connecticut,  in  1642,  the  following  laws 
were  established:  "1.  If  any  man,  after  legal  convic- 
tion, shall  have  or  worship  any  other  god  but  the  Lord 
God,  he  shall  be  put  to  death.  2.  If  any  man  or  woman 
be  a  witch — that  is,  hath  or  consulteth  with  a  familiar 
spirit — they  shall  be  put  to  death.  3.  If  any  person 
shall  blaspheme  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  Son,  or 
Holy  Ghost,  with  direct,  express,  presumptuous,  or  high- 
handed blasphemy,  or  shall  curse  God  in  the  like  manner, 
he  shall  be  put  to  death."  In  about  1655,  the  following 
laws  were  in  force:  "1.  If  any  person  turn  Quakei",  he 
shall  be  banished,  and  not  suffered  to  return  upon  the  pain 
of  death.  2.  No  jjriest  shall  abide  in  this  dominion : 
he  shall  be  banished,  and  suffer  death  on  his  return. 
Priests  may  be  seized  by  any  one,  witliout  a  warrant- 
3.  N"o  man  shall  hold  any  office,  Avho  is  not  sound  in  the 
faith  ;  whoever  gives  a  vote  to  such  person  shall  pay 
a  fine  of  one  pound  sterling,  and  for  a  second  offense 
he  shall  be  disfranchised.     4,  No  Quaker,  or  dissenter 


AS  THE  LAW  WA&.  35 

from  the  established  worship  of  this  dominion,  shall  be 
allowed  to  give  a  vote  for  the  election  of  magistrates  or 
any  officer.  5.  No  food  or  lodging  shall  be  afforded  to 
a  Quaker,  Adamite,  or  other  heretic.  6.  IsTo  one  shall 
run  on  the  Sabbath-day,  or  walk  in  his  garden  or  else- 
where, except  reverently  to  and  from  meeting.  7.  No 
one  shall  travel,  cook  victuals,  make  'beds,  sweep  house, 
cut  hair,  or  shave  on  the  Sabbath-day.  8.  No  woman 
shall  kiss  her  child  on  the  Sabbath  or  fasting-day.  9.  No 
minister  shall  keep  a  school."  It  is  said  by  Peters, 
in  his  History  of  Connecticut,  that  these  laws  were 
the  laws  made  by  the  jDCople  of  New-Haven,  previous  to 
their  incorporation  with  Saybrook  and  Hartford  colonies, 
and  were,  as  he  says,  very  properly  termed  "  blue  laws," 
that  is,  bloody  laws ;  for,  he  adds,  they  were  all  sanctified 
with  excommunication,  confiscation,  fines,  banishment, 
Avhipping,  cutting  off  the  ears,  burning  the  tongue,  and 
death.  We  do  not  reproduce  these  laws  with  pleasure, 
and  have  given  only  as  many  as  seemed  necessary  to 
convey  a  proper  idea  of  the  spirit  with  which  Connec- 
ticut laws  were  made  in  those  days. 

Sec.  5.  In  New- York  (1603)  it  was  ordered  that  "all 
Jesuits,  seminary  priests,  missionaries,  or  other  ecclesi- 
astical persons,  made  or  ordained  by  any  power  or  juris- 
diction derived  or  pretended  from  the  Pope,  residing  or 
being  within  the  province,  depart  the  same  on  or  before 
the  first  of  November,  1700.  If  any  such  continue  to 
remain,  or  come  into  the  province,  after  the  said  first  of 
November,  he  shall  be  deemed  an  incendiary,  a  disturber 


36  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

of  the  public  peace,  an  enemy  to  the  true  Christian  re- 
ligion, and  shall  suffer  perpetual  puniskmetit.^^  (Plant. 
Laws,  p.  294.)  A  similar  law  was  in  force  at  this  time 
in  Massachusetts.  (Plant.  Laws,  p.  54.)  One  that  lived 
in  those  days,  we  imagine,  could  hardly  susj^ect  that,  be- 
fore another  century  passed  away,  the  people  of  the 
whole  United  States  would  declare  that "  Congress  shall 
pass  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof."  This  was  a  grand 
principle  to  incorporate  in  the  Constitution  of  a  great 
country ;  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  its  effect  is, 
to  leave  to  the  people  of  each  State  the  power  to  make 
any  law  they  may  deem  expedient,  "  respecting  an  estab- 
lishment of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise 
thei'eof "  "Were  it  not  for  this  reserved poicer,  the  law  as 
to  religion  in  schools  could  have  been  explained  in  five 
minutes.  ISTow,  however,  the  explanation  is  not  so  easy. 
We  have  said  elsewhere  that  our  schools  are,  for  the 
most  part,  free  from  sectarianism,  and  this  is  true.  But 
a  general  statement  of  this  Idnd  wall  not  answer  the 
ends  of  those  who  would  be  exact,  careful,  and  critical  in 
their  inquiries^  It  is  for  the  gratification  of  such  that 
we  place  the  laws  of  the  several  States  on  this  particular 
subject  in  close  juxtaposition — a  thing  which  is  now 
done  for  the  first  time.  We  give  the  law,  and  cite  the 
authorities  in  which  the  very  language  as  given  will  in 
every  case  be  found. 

Sec,  G.  Li  Maryland,  where  a  distinguished  historian 
assures  us  "  religious  liberty  obtained  a  home,  its  only 


AS  THE  LAW  WAS.  si 

home  in  the  wide  worlcl,"(l  Bancroft's  Hist.  U.  S.  p.  247,) 
it  was  enacted  that,  if  any  person  whatever,  inhabiting 
within  this  j)rovince,  shall  blaspheme,  that  is,  curse  God, 
deny  our  Saviour  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  or  deny  the  Holy 
Trinity,  or  the  Godhead  of  any  of  the  three  persons,  or 
the  unity  of  the  Godhead,  or  shall  utter  any  reproachful 
words  or  language  concerning  the  Holy  Trinity,  or  any 
of  the  three  persons  thereof,  he  or  she  shall,  for  the  first 
ofiense,  be  bored  through  the  tongue,  and  fined  twenty 
pounds  sterling ;  for  the  second  offense,  he  or  she  shall 
be  branded  on  the  forehead  with  the  letter  "  B,"  and  fined 
forty  pounds  sterling,  or  imprisonment  for  one  year ; 
and  for  the  third  ofiense,  he  or  she  so  offending  shall 
suffer  death,  with  confiscation  of  all  their  goods  and 
chattels.  (Plant.  Laws,  p.  8.)  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  and  administration  of  the  sacraments,  with  other 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England,  shall  be 
solemnly  read  by  all  ministers  in  the  churches  and  other 
places  of  worship  in  this  province.  (Plant.  Laws,  p.  62.) 
Sec.  7.  In  Virginia,  it  was  enacted  that,  if  any  person 
brought  up  in  the  Christian  religion  shall,  by  writing, 
printing,  teaching,  or  advised  speaking,  deny  the  being 
of  a  God,  or  the  Holy  Trinity;  or  assert  or  maintain 
there  are  more  gods  than  one ;  or  deny  the  Christian 
religion  to  be  true ;  or  the  Holy  Scrij)tures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  to  be  of  divine  authority ;  and  be 
thereof  lawfully  convicted  uj)on  indictment  or  informa- 
tion in  the  general  court,  such  persons,  for  the  first 
offense,  shall  be  disabled  to  hold  any  office  or  employ- 


38  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

ment,  ecclesiastical,  civil,  or  military,  or  any  profit  or  ad- 
vantage therefrom.  And  every  such  office  or  employ- 
ment, held  by  such  person  at  the  time  of  his  or  her  con- 
viction, is  hereby  declared  void.  And  every  such  person, 
upon  a  second  conviction  of  any  of  the  crimes  aforesaid, 
in  manner  aforesaid,  shall  from  thenceforth  be  unable  to 
sue  in  any  court  of  law  or  equity,  or  to  be  guai'dian  to 
any  child,  or  executor  or  administrator  of  any  person,  or 
capable  of  any  gift  or  legacy,  or  to  bear  any  office,  civil 
or  military,  forever  within  this  colony;  and  shall  also 
suffer  from  the  time  of  such  conviction  three  years'  im- 
prisonment, without  bail  or  niain2)rise.  (Laws  of  Va. 
1*758,  p.  14.)  This  same  law  was  in  force  in  South-Caro- 
lina from  about  1703.  (Pub.  Laws  of  S.  C.  1790,  p.  3.) 
No  other  catechism  could  be  taught  than  the  Church 
catechism  inserted  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
(Plant.  Laws  of  Va.  p.  12.)  The  following  law  was 
made  in  Virginia,  in  the  year  1663,  and  was  "  in  force  and 
in  use  "  still  in  1 704  :  "  If  any  Quakers  or  other  separatists 
whatever  in  this  colony  assemble  themselves  together  to 
the  number  of  five  or  more,  of  the  age  of  sixteen  years  or 
upward,  under  the  pretense  of  joining  in  a  religious 
worship  not  authorized  in  England  or  this  country,  the 
parties  so  offending,  being  thereof  lawfully  convicted 
by  verdict,  confession,  or  notorious  evidence  of  the  fact, 
shall  for  the  first  offense  forfeit  and  pay  two  hundred 
pounds  of  tobacco ;  for  the  second  offense,  five  hundred 
pounds  of  tobacco ;  to  be  levied  by  Avarrant  from  any 
one  justice  of  the  peace  upon  the  goods  of  the  party  con- 


AS  THE  LAW    WAS.  39 

victed ;  but  if  he  be  unable,  then  ujDon  the  goods  of  any 
other  of  the  sepai'atists  or  Quakers  then  present.  And 
for  the  third  oiFense,  the  offender,  being  convicted  as 
,  aforesaid,  shall  be  banished  the  colony."  (Plant.  Laws  of 
Va.  p.  52.)  About  the  time  this  law  was  enacted  in 
Virginia,  and  before  any  of  the  laws  of  the  other  colo- 
nies which  we  have  cited  were  abolished,  the  people  of 
the  little  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  perfectly  consistent 
with  their  professions  from  the  first  settlement  of  their 
colony  by  Roger  Williams,  caused  to  be  inserted  in 
their  charter,  obtained  from  Charles  II.  in  1665,  the 
grand  original  idea  of  religious  liberty,  which  seems 
since  to  have  been  adopted  to  a  considerable  extent  by 
nearly  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  by  some  of  them 
entire. 

Sec.  8.  Rhode  Islaxd. — The  language  of  the  char- 
ter above  referred  to  is  as  follows :  "  No  person  within 
the  said  colony,  at  any  time  hereafter,  shall  be  any  wise 
molested,  punished,  disquieted,  or  called  in  question  for 
any  difference  in  opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  and  do 
not  actually  disturb  the  peace  of  our  said  colony ;  but 
that  all  and  every  person  and  persons  may  from  time  to 
time,  and  at  all  times  hereafter,  freely  and  fully  have 
and  enjoy  his  and  their  own  judgments  and  consciences 
in  matters  of  religious  concernments,  throughout  tlie 
tract  of  land  hereafter  mentioned,  they  behaving  them- 
selves peaceably  and  quietly,  and  not  using  their  liberty 
to  licentiousness  and  profaneness,  or  to  the  civil  injury 
or  outward  disturbance  of  others."     The  charter  fur- 


40  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

ther  says  that  this  remarkable  liberty  of  conscience  is 
given  to  the  people  of  Rhode  Island,  in  order  "that 
there  may,  in  time,  by  the  blessing  of  God  njDon  their 
endeavors,  be  laid  a  sure  foundation  of  happiness  to  all 
America.'^''  To  show  the  remarkable  strength  of  the 
faith  of  these  men  in  their  new  theory  of  religious  lib- 
erty, which  was  to  be  "  a  sure  foundation  of  happiness 
to  all  America,"  we  transcribe  the  following  law  in  full 
from  one  of  their  ancient  records :  "  Whereas  Almighty 
God  hath  created  the  mind  free,  all  attempts  to  influ- 
ence it  by  tem^^oral  punishments  or  burdens,  or  by  civil 
incapacitations,  tend  only  to  beget  habits  of  hypocrisy 
and  meanness,  and  are  a  departure  from  the  plan  of  the 
Holy  Author  of  our  religion,  who,  being  Lord  both  of 
body  and  mind,  yet  chose  not  to  proj^agate  it  by  co- 
ercions on  either,  as  was  in  His  almighty  power  to  do ; 
that  the  presumption  of  legislators  and  rulers,  civil  as 
well  as  ecclesiastical,  who,  being  themselves  but  fallible 
and  uninspired  men,  have  assumed  dominion  over  the 
faith  of  others,  setting  up  their  own  opinions  and  modes 
of  thinking  as  the  only  true  and  infallible,  and  as  such 
endeavoring  to  impose  them  on  others,  hath  established 
and  maintained  false  religions  over  the  greatest  part  of 
the  world,  and  through  all  time ;  that  to  compel  a  man 
to  furnish  contributions  of  money  for  the  proj^agation 
of  opinions  which  he  disbelieves  is  sinful  and  tyran- 
nical ;  that  even  the  forcing  him  to  support  this  or  that 
teacher  of  his  own  religious  persuasion  is  depriving  liim 
of  the  comfortable  liberty  of  giving  his  contributions  to 


AS  THE  LAW  WAS.  41 

the  particular  pastor  whose  morals  he  would  make  his 
pattern,  and  whose  powers  he  feels  most  persuasive  to 
righteousness,  and  is  withdrawing  from  the  ministry 
those  temporary  rewards  which,  proceeding  from  an  ap- 
probation of  theu'  personal  conduct,  are  an  additional 
incitement  to  earnest  and  unremitting  labors  for  the  in- 
struction of  mankind ;  that  our  civil  rights  have  no  de- 
pendence on  our  religious  opinions ;  that  therefore  the 
proscribing  any  citizen  as  unworthy  the  pubHc  confi- 
dence by  laying  upon  him  an  incapacity  of  being  called 
to  offices  of  trust  and  emolument  unless  he  possesses 
or  renounces  this  or  that  religious  opinion  is  depriving 
him  injuriously  of  those  privileges  and  advantages  to 
which,  in  common  with  his  fellow-citizens,  he  has  a  nat- 
ural right ;  that  it  tends  only  to  corrupt  the  principles  of 
that  religion  which  it  is  meant  to  encourage,  by  bribing 
with  a  monoj)oly  of  worldly  honors  and  emoluments 
those  who  will  externally  profess  and  conform  to  it ; 
that  though,  indeed,  those  are  criminal  who  do  not  with- 
stand such  temptation,  yet  neither  are  those  innocent 
who  lay  the  bait  in  their  way ;  that  to  sufier  the  civil 
magistrate  to  intrude  his  powers  into  the  field  of  opinion, 
and  to  restrain  the  profession  or  j^ropagation  of  princi- 
ples, on  supposition  of  their  ill  tendency,  is  a  dangerous 
fallacy,  which  at  once  destroys  all  religious  libei-ty,  be- 
cause he,  being  of  course  j^^tlge  of  that  tendency,  will 
make  his  own  opinions  the  rule  of  judgment,  and  approve 
or  condemn  the  sentiments  of  others  only  as  they  shall 
square  with  or  difier  fi'om  his   own  ;   that  it   is   time 


42  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

enough,  for  the  rightful  purposes  of  civil  government, 
for  its  officers  to  interfere  when  princi^Dles  break  out  into 
open  acts  against  peace  and  good  order ;  and,  finally, 
that  truth  is  great  and  will  prevail,  if  left  to  herself; 
that  she  is  the  proper  and  sufficient  antagonist  to  error, 
and  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  conflict,  unless,  by 
human  interposition,  disarmed  of  her  natural  weapons, 
free  argument  and  debate — errors  ceasing  to  be  danger- 
ous when  it  is  permitted  to  contradict  them.  And 
whereas  a  princij)al  object  of  our  venerable  ancestors 
in  their  migration  to  this  country  and  settlement  of  this 
State  was,  as  they  expressed  it,  '  to  hold  forth  a  lively 
experiment,  that  a  most  flourishing  civil  state  may  stand, 
and  best  be  maintained  with  a  full  liberty  in  religious 
concernments :'  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  General 
Assembly,  and  by  the  authority  thereof  it  is  enacted, 
that  no  man  shall  be  compelled  to  frequent  or  support 
any  religious  worship,  place,  or  minister  whatever ;  nor 
shall  be  enforced,  restrained,  molested,  or  burdened  in 
his  body  or  goods ;  nor  shall  otherwise  sufler  on  account 
of  his  religious  opinions  or  belief;  but  that  all  men  shall 
be  free  to  possess,  and  by  argument  to  maintain,  their 
opinions  in  matters  of  religion ;  and  that  the  same  shall 
in  nowise  diminish,  enlarge,  or  affi3ct  their  civil  capaci- 
ties."    (Laws  of  R.  I.  1798,  p.  81.) 

The  same  principles,  in  almost  the  same  words,  are 
enunciated  in  the  present  Constitution  of  Rhode  Island. 
(Art.  1,  sec.  3.)  After  being  "fourteen  weeks  sorely 
tossed  in  a  bitter  season,  not  knowmg  what  bread  or 


AS  THE  LAW   WAS.  43 

bed  did  mean,"  at  last,  ia  June,  1636,  the  exiled  Roger 
Williams,  with  five  companions,  embarked  in  a  frail 
Indian  canoe  to  find  and  found  a  home  for  religious 
liberty.  Tradition  has  marked  the  spring  near  wliich 
they  landed :  it  is  the  parent  spot,  the  first  inhabited 
nook  of  Rhode  Island.  This  place  WUliams  called  Prov- 
idence. "  I  desired,"  said  he,  "  it  might  be  for  a  shelter 
for  jDcrsons  distressed  for  conscience,"  (1  Bancft.  379;) 
and  such  a  shelter  it  very  soon  became.  At  a  time 
"when  Germany  was  a  battle-field  for  all  Europe  in  the 
implacable  wars  of  religion ;  when  even  Holland  was 
bleeding  with  the  anger  of  vengeful  factions;  when 
France  was  still  to  go  through  the  fearful  struggle  with 
bigotry ;  when  England  was  gasping  under  the  despot- 
ism of  intolerance;  almost  half  a  century  before  William 
Penn  became  an  American  proprietary ;  two  years  before 
Descartes  founded  modern  philosophy  on  the  method  of 
free  reflection,  (l  Bancft.  375 ;)  and  nearly  a  whole  cen- 
tury before  any  of  the  older  American  colonies  stopped 
branding,  cutting  off  the  ears,  boring  the  tongue  with 
a  red-hot  iron,  banishing,  and  putting  to  death  for  con- 
science' sake — Roger  Williams  asserted  the  great  doc- 
tine  of  religious  liberty,  and  suffered  sorely  for  it ;  but 
afterward  had  the  satisfaction  of  laying  the  foundation 
of  an  independent  state,  based  on  the  broad  principles 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  such  as  the  world  till  then 
had  never  seen. 

Xearly  two  centuries  and  a  half  have  passed  away 
since  the  settlement  of  Rhode  Island,  but  the  peoj)le  hold 


44  OF  RELIOION  IN  SCHOOLS. 

fast  to  their  first  principles.  The  spirit  so  manifest  in 
the  laws  we  have  cited  is  the  spirit  of  their  laws  in  gen- 
eral. In  their  schools  religious  liberty  is  practiced,  in- 
culcated,  and  protected  by  law.  No  teacher  or  scholar 
is  proscribed  there  on  account  of  religious  opmions, 

"  Shall  I  ask  the  brave  soldier  who  fights  by  my  side, 

In  the  cause  of  mankind,  if  our  creeds  agree  ? 
Shall  I  give  up  the  friend  I  have  valued  and  tried, 

If  he  kneel  not  before  the  same  altar  with  me  ? 
From  the  heretic  girl  of  my  soul  shall  I  fly, 

To  seek  somewhere  else  a  more  orthodox  kiss  ? 
No  !  perish  the  hearts,  and  the  laws  that  try 

Truth,  valor,  or  love,  by  a  standard  like  this." 


CHAPTER  in. 

OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS— AS  THE  LAW  IS. 

"  Slave  to  no  sect,  who  takes  no  private  road, 
But  looks  through,  nature  up  to  nature's  God." 

Sec.  1.  Rhode  Islajstd,  continued. — As  this  little 
State  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  pioneer,  at  least  in  this 
country,  of  what  is  now  known  as  "  religious  liberty," 
we  give  it  more  attention  than  its  geographical  position 
or  territorial  extent  would  otherwise  appear  to  require. 
On  this  particular  subject  the  laws  of  Rhode  Island 
merit  a  full  explanation,  both  as  to  their  letter  and  spirit. 
The  Constitution  and  laws  of  this  State  (ch.  2,  sec.  8)  give 
no  power  to  a  school  committee,  nor  is  there  any  authority 
in  the  State,  by  which  the  reading  of  the  Bible  or  pray- 
ing in  school,  either  at  the  opening  or  at  the  close,  can 
be  commanded  and  enforced.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution  and  the  neglect  of  the  law  to 
specify  any  penalties  for  so  opening  and  closing  a  school, 
or  to  appoint  or  allow  any  officer  to  take  notice  of  such 
an  act,  do  as  clearly  show  that  there  can  be  no  compul- 
sory exclusion  of  such  reading  and  praying  from  the 


46  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

piiblic  schools.  Tlie  whole  matter  must  be  regulated 
by  the  consciences  of  the  teachers  and  inhabitants  of  the 
districts,  and  by  the  general  consent  of  the  community. 
Statute  law  and  school  committees'  regulations  can  en- 
force neither  the  use  nor  the  disuse  of  such  devotional 
exercises.  (Ch.  2,  sec.  8.)  School  committees  may,  in- 
deed, recommend,  but  they  can  go  no  further.  It  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  general  sentiment  of  the  jjeoi^le  of  Rhode 
Island  that  this  matter  shall  be  left  to  the  conscience  of 
the  teacher,  (Pub.  Schools  Acts,  with  Rem.  1 857,  pp.  98, 
99.)  No  book  should  be  introduced  into  any  public 
school  by  the  committee  containing  any  passage  or  mat- 
ter reflecting  in  the  least  degree  upon  any  religious  sect, 
or  which  any  religious  sect  would  be  likely  to  consider 
offensive.  (Id.  p.  42.)  While  a  committee,  on  the  exam- 
ination of  teachers,  should  not  endeavor  to  inquire  into 
the  peculiar  religious  or  sectarian  opinions  of  a  teacher, 
and  should  not  entertain  any  preferences  or  prejudices 
founded  on  any  such  grounds ;  they  ought,  nevertheless, 
and  without  hesitation,  to  reject  every  j^erson  who  is  in 
the  habit  of  ridiculing,  deriding,  or  scoffing  at  religion  ; 
for  such  a  habit  may  well  be  supposed  to  betray  a  want 
of  that  liberality  which  the  State  encourages  in  religious 
concernments,  and  an  incapacity  to  teach  in  the  magnan- 
imous spirit  of  its  laws.     (Id.  p.  3G.) 

Sec.  2.  Connecticut. — Although  this  State  may 
have  a  record  not  altogether  so  clean  and  so  free  from 
the  spirit  of  religious  intolerance  as  that  of  Rhode  Isl- 
and, yet  it  would  be  very  unjust  to  judge  Connecticut 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  4Y 

at  this  day  by  its  ancient  colonial  laws,  (Ch.  2,  sec.  4.)  The 
history  of  the  original  colonies  of  which  this  State  was 
formed,  as  well  as  the  action  of  the  General  Assembly, 
after  the  union  of  these  colonies,  clearly  establish  the 
fact  that  a  good  common  school  education  has  ever  been 
considered  the  birthright  of  eveiy  child  of  the  State. 
In  1641,  a  free  school  was  ordered  to  be  set  up  in  New- 
Haven,  and  "  the  pastor,  Mr.  Davenport,  together  with 
the  magistrates,  was  directed  to  consider  what  allowance 
should  be  paid  to  it  out  of  the  common  stock."  This  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  small  beginning  of  the 
American  system  of  free  school  education.  In  some 
form,  the  duty  of  educating  the  whole  community  has 
been  recognized  in  Connecticut  ever  since.  (Com.  School 
Acts  of  Conn.  1864,  p.  2.)  All  the  laws  of  every  State 
must  be  made  and  executed  in  accordance  with  the  letter 
and  spu'it  of  its  constitution  ;  for  that  is  the  fundamental 
laAV,  and  contains  the  princij^les  uj^on  which  the  govern- 
ment of  the  State  is  founded.  On  examining  the  Con- 
stitution of  Connecticut,  (adopted  in  1818,)  we  find  that 
the  Rhode  Island  idea  of  religious  liberty  has  been  al- 
most wholly  adopted  in  that  instrument.  • "  The  exercise 
and  enjoyment  of  religious  profession  and  worship,  with- 
out discrimination,  shall  forever  be  free  to  all  persons 
in  this  State,  provided  that  the  right  hereby  declared 
and  established  shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  excuse 
acts  of  licentiousness,  or  to  justify  practices  inconsistent 
with  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  State,"  (Const,  of  Conn, 
art.  1,  sec.  3 ;)  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  held  and  declared 


48  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

to  be  "tlie  duty  of  all  men  to  worship  the  Supreme 
Being,  the  great  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  Universe," 
(Id.  art.  7,  sec.  1 ;)  and  perhaps  Connecticut  teachers 
can  constitutionally  be  required  to  so  worship. 

Sec.  3.  Massachusetts. — The  Constitution  of  this 
State  says:  "No  subject  shall  be  hurt,  molested,  or 
restrained  in  his  person,  liberty,  or  estate  for  worship- 
ing God  in  the  manner  and  seasons  most  agreeable  to 
the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience ;  or  for  his  religious 
profession  or  sentiments :  provided  he  doth  not  disturb 
the  jDublic  peace  or  obstruct  others  in  their  religious  wor- 
ship." (Const,  of  Mass.  art.  1,  sec.  2.)  But  "it  is  the 
duty  of  all  men  in  society,  publicly  and  at  stated  sea- 
sons, to  worship  the  Supreme  Being,  the  great  Creator 
and  Preserver  of  the  Universe."  (lb.)  "  The  public  wor- 
ship of  God,  and  instructions  in  piety,  religion,  and  mo- 
I'ality,  promote  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  a  people, 
and  the  security  of  a  republican  government."  (Const,  of 
Mass.  Amend,  art.  11.)  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that 
the  teachers  of  Massachusetts  might  constitutionally  be 
required  not  only  to  worshij)  God,  as  in  Conecticut,  but 
to  do  this  ".publicly  and  at  stated  seasons,"  The 
school  committees  are  prohibited  by  statute  (Gen,  Stat- 
utes, tit.  xi.  ch.  38,  sec.  21)  from  directing  any  school- 
books  calculated  to  favor  the  tenets  of  any  particular 
sect  of  Cliristians  to  be  purchased  or  used  in  any  of  the 
town  schools.  It  seems  to  be  the  settled  policy  of  the 
State,  however,  to  require  the  use  of  the  Bible  in  the 
public  schools;  in  fact,  since  the  statute  of  1855,  "the 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  49 

daily  reading  of  some  portion  of  the  Bible,  in  the  com- 
mon English  version,"  is  made  obligatory.  As  Connec- 
ticut claims  the  honor  of  having  established  the  first  free 
school  on  the  continent,  so  Massachusetts  claims  that 
"  she,  first  of  all,  established  a  system  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  supported  it  by  the  essential  and  distinctive 
characteristics  of  a  State — the  right  and  duty  of  taxa- 
tion." (Sec.  Rep.  1861,  p.  57.)  Neither  Massachusetts 
nor  Connecticut,  however,  can  dispute  with  Rhode  Island 
the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  "to  hold  forth  a  lively 
experiment,  that  a  most  flourishing  civil  state  may  stand 
and  best  be  maintained  with  a  full  liberty  in  religious 
concernments."  (Ch.  2,  sec.  8.)  Rhode  Island's  "  sure 
foundation  of  happiness  to  all  America"  has  certainly 
been  adopted  to  a  considerable  extent  in  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts ;  but  the  former  gives  religious  liberty 
to  those  only  who  worship  God,  and  the  latter  gives  it 
only  to  those  who  worship  God  "publicly  and  at  stated 
seasons." 

Sec.  4.  Maine. — This  State  has  adopted  the  princi- 
pal features  of  the  Rhode  Island  theory  of  religious  lib- 
erty, at  least  in  substance,  No  religious  test  can  be 
required  as  a  qualification  for  any  oflice  or  trust.  (Const. 
of  Me.  art.  1,  sec.  3.)  It  seems,  however,  that  a  rule  of 
school,  requiring  every  scholar  to  read  from  the  Protest 
ant  version  of  the  Bible,  may  be  enforced.  (38  Maine,  3*70.) 

Sec.  5.  New-Hampshire. — After  setting  forth  some 
principles  that  harmonize  perfectly  Avitli  those  advanced 
in  Rhode  Island,  the  Constitution  of  this  State  asserts 


50  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

and  maintains  as  follows :  "  As  morality  and  piety, 
rightly  grounded  on  evangelical  principles,  will  give  the 
best  and  greatest  security  to  government,  and  will  lay, 
in  the  hearts  of  men,  the  strongest  obligations  to  due 
subjection;  and  as  the  knowledge  of  these  is  most  likely 
to  be  propagated  through  a  society  by  the  institution 
of  the  public  worship  of  the  Deity,  and  of  public  in- 
struction in  morality  and  religion ;  therefore,  to  promote 
these  important  purposes,  the  people  of  this  State  have 
a  right  to  empower,  and  do  hereby  fully  empower,  the 
Legislature  to  authorize,  from  time  to  time,  the  several 
towns,  parishes,  bodies  corporate,  or  religious  societies, 
within  this  State,  to  make  adequate  provision,  at  their 
own  expense,  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  public 
Protestant  teachers,  of  piety,  religion,  and  morality." 
(Const,  of  IST.  H.  part  1,  art.  6.) 

Sec.  6.  Vermont. — To  a  declaration  of  religious  lib- 
erty amounting  to  about  the  same  in  substance  as  that 
which  is  maintained  in  Rhode  Island,  the  Constitution 
of  this  State  adds  the  following  :  "ISTevertheless,  every 
sect  or  denomination  of  Christians  ought  to  observe  the 
Sabbath  or  Lord's  day,  and  keep  up  some  sort  of  relig- 
ious worship,  which  to  thom  shall  seem  most  agreeable 
to  the  revealed  will  of  God."     (Ch.  1,  art.  3.) 

Sec.  7.  New-Yokk.  —  The  "  lively  experiment "  of 
Rhode  Island  has,  it  is  thought,  been  fully  adopted  by 
the  Empire  State,  and  is,  at  least  in  substance,  incor- 
porated in  the  Constitution.  "The  free  exercise  and 
enjoyment  of  religious  profession  and  worship,  without 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  51 

discriminatiou  or  preference,  shall  forever  be  allowed 
in  this  State  to  all  mankrud."  (Const,  of  N.  Y.  art.  i, 
sec,  3.)  The  school-teacher,  in  common  with  all  others, 
can  insist  ujjon  enjoying  the  benefit  of  this  constitutional 
provison ;  but  it  behooves  him,  nevertheless,  to  bear  in 
mind,  under  all  circumstances,  that  he  is  the  agent  of 
the  State,  and  must  teach  in  the  spirit  of  its  laws.  He 
should  never  for  a  moment  forget  that  his  scholars  are 
protected  by  the  law  equally  with  himself  While  he 
may  exact  from  his  examiners  and  others,  he  must  him- 
self also  exhibit  the  liberality  and  magnanimity  in  this 
respect  that  is  proclaimed  in  the  organic  law  of  his 
State,  or  he  is  unfit  for  the  vocation  of  public  teacher, 
and  he  may  be  so  declared.  The  State,  however,  so  far 
as  it  can  consistently  witli  its  organic  law,  and  without 
prejudice  to  any,  would  foster  piety  in  the  citizen ;  and 
therefore  it  is  not  considered  unlawful  to  ojien  and  close 
school  with  prayer  and  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  pro- 
vided that  all  discussion  of  controverted  points  and  sec- 
tarian dogmas  be  carefully  avoided.  The  policy  of  ISTew- 
York  is  the  same  in  this  respect  as  that  of  Rhode  Island. 
(Ch.  2,  sec.  8,  and  ch.  3,  sec.  1.) 

Sec.  8.  Xew-Jersey. — The  law  as  to  religion  is  the 
same,  in  substance,  in  this  State  as  in  Xew-York  and 
Rhode  Island.     (Const,  of  N",  J.  art.  1,  sees.  3,  4.) 

Sec.  9.  PEiofSTLVAjaA. — This  State,  like  several  oth- 
ers, seems  to  contradict  itself  on  the  subject  of  religious 
liberty.  "  Xo  preference  shall  ever  be  given,  by  law, 
to  any  religious  establishments  or  modes  of  worship." 


62  OF  liELIGION  IK  SCHOOLS, 

(Const,  of  Pa.  art.  9,  sec.  3.)  "  No  person  za/io  acknowl- 
edges  the  heing  of  a  God  and  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  lyanishiinents  shall,  on  account  of  his  religious  senti- 
ments, be  disqualified  to  hold  any  office  or  place  of  trust 
or  profit  under  this  comnionvv^ealth."  (Id.  sec.  4.)  If 
this  is  an  attempt  to  imitate  the  liberality  of  Rhode  Isl- 
and, it  is  not  altogether  successful.  "  We  therefore  de- 
clare, that  no  man  shall  be  comj)elled  to  frequent  or  sup- 
port any  religious  worship,  place,  or  ministry  whatever, 
except  in  fulfillment  of  his  own  voluntary  contract ;  nor 
enforced,  restrained,  molested,  or  burdened  in  his  body 
or  goods ;  nor  disqualified  from  holding  office ;  nor  other- 
wise sufier  on  account  of  his  religious  belief;  and  that 
every  man  shall  be  free  to  worship)  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  and  to  profess,  and  by  argu- 
ment to  maintain,  his  opinion  in  matters  of  religion ;  and 
that  the  same  shall  in  nowise  dhninisJi^  enlarge,  or  affect 
his  civil  capacity."  (Const,  of  R.  I.  art.  1,  sec.  3.)  It 
will  be  noticed  that  no  condition  is  here  interj^osed,  but 
the  liberty  is  complete  and  unrestricted.  In  Pennsylva- 
nia, teachers  might  constitutionally  be  required  to  "  ac- 
knowledge the  being  of  a  God,  and  a  future  state  of  re- 
wards and  punishments,"  (Const,  of  Pa.  art.  9,  sec.  4  ;) 
but  in  Rhode  Island  such  a  requirement  would  be  uncon- 
stitutional. In  practice,  however,  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  people  of  the  one  State  are  less  liberal  than 
those  of  the  other.  For  in  Pennsylvania  it  is  held  that 
"  church  influence  should  never  be  permitted  to  swerve 
a  director  from  the  line  of  duty  in  the  selection  of  teach- 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  53 

ers,"  (School  Dec.  Xo.  159  ;)  and  "  the  religious  predilec- 
tions of  pupils,  and  their  parents  and  guardians,  are  re- 
quired to  be  sacredly  respected;  sectarian  instruction 
not  being  considered  the  province  of  the  school-master, 
but  of  the  i)arent  or  guardian,  and  the  spiritual  teacher 
selected  by  him."  (School  Dec.  No.  162.)  Consequently, 
sectarian  -^orks  are  excluded  from  the  schools.  (School 
Dec.  No.  187.)  But  "the  Scriptures  come  under  the 
head  of  text-books,  and  they  should  not  be  omitted  from 
the  list."     (School  Dec.  No.  186.) 

Sec.  10.  Maetlaxd. — It  is  the  duty  of  every  man  to 
worship  God  in  such  manner  as  he  thinks  most  accept- 
able to  him,  and  all  jjersons  are  equally  entitled  to 
jirotection  in  their  religious  liberty;  wherefore,  no  per- 
son ought  by  any  law  to  be  molested  in  his  person  or  es- 
tate on  account  of  liis  religious  persuasion  or  profession, 
or  for  his  religious  practice,  unless  under  color  of  religion 
any  man  shall  disturb  the  good  order,  peace,  or  safety  of 
the  State,  or  shall  infringe  the  laws  of  moralit)^  or  in- 
jxire  others  in  their  natural,  civil,  or  religious  rights. 
(Const,  of  Md.  B.  of  R.  art.  33.)  No  other  test  or 
qualification  ought  to  be  required  on  admission  to  any 
office  of  trust  or  profit,  than  such  oath  of  office  as  may 
be  prescribed  by  this  Constitution  or  by  the  laws  of 
the  State,  and  a  declaration  of  belief  in  the  Christian  re- 
ligion /  and  if  the  party  shall  profess  to  be  a  Jew,  the 
declaration  shall  be  of  his  belief  in  a  future  state  of  re- 
wards and  punishments.  (Id.  art.  34.)  In  order  to 
carry  out  faithfully  the  spirit  of  these  constitutional  pro- 


54  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

visions,  every  teacher  iu  Maryland  should  be  a  believer 
in  the  Christian  religion,  or,  at  least,  iu  a  future  state  of 
rewards  and  punishments.  Persons  who  do  not  so  be- 
lieve should  not  be  licensed,  or,  if  any  are  already 
licensed,  their  licenses  should  be  revoked.  The  examin- 
ers in  this  State  may  very  properly  inquire  whether  the 
candidates  for  licenses  believe  iu  the  Christian  religion 
or  iu  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  for  such 
an  inquiry  is  a  part  of  tlieir  legitimate  duty  at  the  ex- 
aminations. But  they  have  no  right  to  go  further  than 
the  law  requires.  If,  for  example,  an  applicant  for  a  cer- 
tificate declares  that  he  believes  in  "  a  future  state  of  re- 
wards and  punishments,"  or  "  in  the  Christian  religion," 
then  he  can  be  questioned  no  further  on  the  subject ;  or 
if  questioned,  he  may  refuse  to  answer.  If  he  says  he 
believes  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments, 
the  law  can  require  nothing  more,  for  the  Constitution 
prohibits  any  further  test.  It  is  a  little  singular  that 
this  Constitution,  which  does  not  secure  full  religious 
liberty,  is  the  only  one  of  thirty-five  now  before  us 
which  has  the  phrase  "  religious  liberty "  iu  it.  The 
Constitutions  of  several  of  the  States,  without  the 
phrase,  have  more  of  the  spirit. 

Sec.  11.  Virginia. — Religion,  or  the  duty  which  we 
owe  to  our  Creator,  and  the  manner  of  discharging  it, 
can  be  directed  only  by  reason  and  conviction,  not  by 
force  or  violence ;  and  it  is  the  mutual  duty  of  all  to  prac- 
tice Christian  forbearance,  love,  and  cliarity  toward 
each  other.     (Const,  of  Va.,B.  of  R  sec.  IC.)     There  is 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  55 

no  public-school  system  yet  established  in  Virginia.  At 
the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  two  of  the  counties, 
King  George  and  Stafiord,  were  authorized  to  borrow 
money  for  educational  j)urposes;  but  owing  to  the  great 
scarcity  of  money,  nothing  of  moment  has  been  accom- 
plished. "We  have  the  assurance  of  a  high  official  of  the 
State,  that  the  people  are  only  waiting  for  better  times 
in  order  to  inaugurate  a  system  of  public  schools  similar 
to  those  now  so  successful  elsewhere.  If  such  schools  are 
established  under  the  present  Constitution,  they  should, 
and  doubtless  will,  be  perfectly  free  from  sectarianism. 

Sec.  12.  Xokth-Carolixa. — All  persons  shall  be  at 
liberty  to  exei'cise  their  own  mode  of  worship ;  provided 
that  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to 
exempt  preachers  of  treasonable  or  seditious  discourses 
from  legal  trial  or  jjunishment.  (Const,  of  IST.  C.  art. 
34.)  No  person  who  shall  deny  the  being  of  God,  or 
the  truth  of  tlie  Christian  religion,  or  the  divine  author- 
ity of  the  Old  or  New  Testament,  shall  be  capable  of 
holding  any  office  or  place  of  trust  or  profit  in  the  civil 
department  within  this  State.  (Id.  art.  4,  sec.  2,  of 
Amend.)  Although  there  is  an  established  Church  in 
England,  the  Jews  were  admitted  to  Parliament  more 
than  ten  years  ago.  North-Carolina  is,  in  this  respect, 
evidently  behind  the  times.  No  other  Southern  State  is 
so  illiberal.  More  than  two  centuries  ago,  little  Rhode 
Island  was  inspired  with  a  new  theory  of  government. 
All  the  other  States  of  this  Union  have  since  caught 


66  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

the  insjDiration,  either  wholly  or  partially,  but  North-Car- 
olina is  the  most  laggard  of  them  all. 

Sec.  13.  South-Casolina. — The  free  exercise  and  en- 
joyment of  religious  profession  and  worship,  without  dis- 
crimination or  preference,  shall  forever  hereafter  (l790) 
he  allowed  within  this  State  to  all  mankind,  jDrovided 
that  the  liberty  of  conscience  thereby  declared  shall  not 
be  so  construed  as  to  exciTse  acts  of  licentiousness,  or  jus- 
tify practices  inconsistent  with  the  peace  or  safety  of  this 
State.  (Const,  of  S.  C.  art.  8.)  What  this  State  now 
needs  more  than  any  thing  else,  we  imagine,  is  a  po2:)ular 
system  of  public  schools ;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe 
that  something  of  this  kind  is  in  contemplation.  The 
legislation  of  this  State,  running  through  a  period  of 
more  than  forty  years,  embraces  little  else,  in  reference 
to  schools,  than  the  appropriations  annually  made  to  sup- 
port indigent  scholars.  The  appropriation  for  some ' 
twelve  years  was  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  annually, 
and  previous  thereto  thirty-seven  thousand  five  hundred. 
This  sum  Avas  appropriated  to  the  districts  according  to 
the  representation  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature, 
and  its  exj^enditure  was  confided  to  boards  of  commis- 
sioners in  each  district.  Each  board  adopted  its  own 
rules  and  system,  and  hence  there  has  been  no  uniform- 
ity in  the  organization  of  schools  or  in  expending  the 
funds.  The  boards  are  only  required  to  rej)ort  annually 
to  the  Legislature,  and  exhibit  the  manner  in  which  the 
funds  have  l)een  expended  and  tlie  number  of  indigent 
scholars  tausrht.      Persons  who  have  the  means  of  cdu- 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  57 

eating  their  own  children  are  never  permitted  to  share  in 
the  appropriation ;  the  privilege  is  restricted  to  the  in- 
digent alone.  (Letter  from  Gov.  James  L.  Orr,  May  12, 
1866.) 

Sec.  14.  Geokgia. — The  constitutional  provisions  in 
reference  to  the  liberty  of  conscience  in  this  State  are 
the  same,  in  legal  effect,  as  those  of  South-Carolina, 
though  more  extended,  and,  if  possible,  more  emphatic. 
(Const,  of  Ga,  art.  4,  sec,  10.)  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Legislature  of  this  State  in  1866,  to  pre- 
pare a  bill  for  a  system  of  free  schools  for  the  S.tate,  and 
were  insti'ucted  to  report  at  the  next  session  of  the  Legis- 
lature, (1867.) 

Sec.  15.  Florida. — All  men  have  a  natural  and  ina- 
lienable right  to  worship  Almighty  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  consciences;  and  no  preference 
shall  ever  be  given  by  law  to  any  religious  establish- 
ment or  mode  of  worship  in  this  State.  (Const,  of  Fla. 
art.  1,  sec,  3.)  This  State  has  not  yet  adopted  a  system 
of  public  schools. 

Sec.  16.  Alabama. — ^NTo  person  within  this  State  sliall, 
upon  any  pretense,  be  deprived  of  the  inestimable  privi- 
lege of  worshiping  God  in  the  manner  most  agreeable  to 
his  own  conscience  ;  nor  be  compelled  to  attend  any  place 
of  worship ;  nor  shall  any  one  be  obliged  to  pay  any 
tithes,  taxes,  or  other  rates,  for  the  building  or  repairing 
of  any  place  of  worship,  or  for  the  maintenance  of  any 
minister  or  ministry.  (Const,  of  Ala.  art.  1,  sec.  3.)  No 
human  authority  ought,  in  any  case  whatever,  to  control 


58  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

or  interfere  with  the  rights  of  conscience.  (Id.  sec.  4.) 
No  person  shall  be  hurt,  molested,  or  restrained  in  his 
religious  profession,  sentiments,  or  persuasion,  provided 
he  does  not  disturb  others  in  their  religious  worship. 
(Id.  sec.  5.)  The  civil  rights,  privileges,  and  capacities 
of  any  citizen  shall  in  no  way  be  diminished  or  en- 
larged on  account  of  his  religious  principles.  (Id.  sec. 
6.)  There  shall  be  no  establishment  of  religion  by 
law;  no  preference  shall  ever  be  given  by  law  to  any 
religious  sect,  society,  denomination,  or  mode  of  wor- 
ship ;  and  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  this  State. 
(Id.  sec.  1.)  Every  citizen  may  sj)eak,  write,  and  pub- 
lish his  sentiments,  being  resj^onsible  for  the  abuse  of  that 
privilege.  (Id.  sec.  8.)  We  cite  the  foregoing  sections 
of  the  Alabama  Constitution  in  full,  not  because  they 
are  unique,  for  almost  the  same  words  are  in  the  constitu- 
tions of  several  other  States ;  nor  because  they  insure  a 
larger  religious  liberty,  for  we  are  fully  aware  that  j)er- 
fection  can  not  be  made  more  perfect  by  the  mere  force 
of  rej)etitions.  In  Rhode  Island,  New- York,  New- Jer- 
sey, Delaware,  Virginia,  South-Carolina,  Georgia,  Flori- 
da, and  several  other  States,  religious  liberty  is  as  com- 
pletely constitutional  as  in  Alabama.  Though  the  2)ro- 
visions  in  some  of  the  constitutions  may  not  be  so  extend- 
ed, they  are  equally  comprehensive,  and  the  same  in  legal 
effect.  The  Constitution  of  Alabama,  however,  contains 
so  many  difierent  expressions  for  the  same  thing,  that  we 
think  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  read  the  sec- 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  59 

tions  cited  will  never  after  be  in  error  as  to  wliat  is 
meant  by  "  religious  liberty." 

Sec.  17.  Mississippi. — The  constitutional  provisions  in 
relation  to  the  liberty  of  conscience,  of  speech,  and  of 
the  press,  are  in  legal  effect  the  same  in  this  State  as  in 
Alabama,  and  the  language  is  very  nearly  the  same. 
(Const,  of  Miss.  art.  1,  sees.  3-7.) 

Sec.  1 8.  Louisiana. — The  Constitution  of  this  State  is 
singularly  sUent  on  the  subject  of  religion.  The  free- 
dom of  the  press  is  secured,  and  every  citizen  may  freely 
speak,  write,  and  publish  his  sentiments  on  all  subjects, 
being  responsible  for  an  abuse  of  this  liberty.  (Const, 
of  La.  tit.  6,  art.  106.)  This  is  one  of  the  few  Southern 
States  that  have  a  system  of  public  schools.  These 
schools  suffei-ed  greatly  from  the  war,  but  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  they  will  not  be  permitted  to  languish  long, 
now  that  peace  is  restored.  So  many  considerations  of 
vast  import  to  the  highest  interests  of  the  State,  and  so 
many  influences  affecting  alike  the  moral  and  intellect- 
ual welfare  of  her  citizens,  are  involved  in  this,  that  the 
encouragement  of  poj^ular  education  would  seem  to  be 
the  simplest  expression  of  public  duty  at  this  crisis. 
The  v/ar  has,  indeed,  deprived  most  of  those  citizens,  who 
formerly  supported  public  schools,  of  the  power  of  con- 
tributing to  them  for  a  period  which  it  is  not  now  easy 
to  determine.  But  while  this  is  true,  it  can  not  be  over- 
looked that,  now  more  than  ever,  ai-e  the  j)eople  in  need 
of  a  liberal  system  of  public  education  which  will  supply 
their  children  with  those  advantages  which  their  private 


60  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

means  will  no  longer  enable  them  to  afford.  Upon  the 
State,  therefore,  falls  the  responsibility  of  a  wise  and 
provident  legislation — a  legislation  that  shall  hold  the 
present  in  Avai'dship  for  the  future — to  guard  this  benefi- 
cent system  from  complete  extinction.  (Rep.  of  Suj)t. 
Jan.  22,  1866.) 

Sec.  19.  Texas. — The  law  on  the  subject  under  con- 
sideration IS  the  same  in  Texas  as  in  Alabama,  though 
not  expressed  in  the  same  words.  It  is  also  made  the 
duty  of  the  Legislature  to  pass  such  laws  as  shall  be 
necessary  to  protect  every  religious  denomination  in  the 
peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  own  mode  of  public  wor- 
ship.    (Const,  of  Texas,  art.  1,  sees.  3  and  4.) 

Sec.  20.  Aekaxsas. — The  civil  rights,  privileges,  or 
capacities  of  any  citizen  shall  in  nowise  be  diminished 
or  enlarged  on  account  of  his  religion.  (Const,  of  Ark. 
art.  2,  sec.  4.)  But  no  person  who  denies  the  being  of  a 
God  shall  hold  any  ofiice  in  the  civil  dej^artment  of  this 
State,  nor  be  allowed  his  oath  in  any  court.  (Id.  art.  8, 
sec.  3.) 

Sec.  21.  Tenistessee. — The  law  as  to  religion  in  this 
State  is  the  same  in  legal  effect,  and  almost  the  same  in 
language,  as  in  Maryland.  (Const,  of  Tenn.  art.  1 ,  sees. 
3  and  4 ;  Id.  art.  9,  sec.  2.) 

Sec.  22.  Kentucky. — The  people  of  this  State  have 
reserved  to  themselves  full  religious  liberty.  (Const,  of 
Ky.  art.  13,  sees.  5  and  6.)  We  find  nothing  in  the 
school  laws  inconsistent  therewith. 

Sec.  23.  West-Virgii^ia. — The  constitutional  provis- 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  61 

ions  are  the  same  in  legal  effect  as  in  Kentucky.  (Const, 
of  West-Va.  art.  2,  sec.  9.)  But  all  teachers  employed 
in  the  public  schools  of  this  State  shall  read  or  cause  to 
be  read  at  least  one  chapter  from  the  Bible,  in  a  lan- 
guage understood  by  the  scholars,  every  day  at  the 
opening  of  the  school,  and  inculcate  the  duties  of  piety, 
morality,  and  respect  for  the  laws  and  government  of 
this  coimtry.     (School  Laws  of  West-Va.  1866,  sec.  29.) 

Sec.  24.  Ohio,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Okego:!^, 
Mi]s":xES0TA,  and  Delate aee. — What  has  been  stated  of 
Kentucky  wiU  apply  equally  to  all  of  these  States. 
(Const,  of  Ohio,  art.  1,  sec.  V ;  Const,  of  Mich.  art.  4,  sees. 
39-41 ;  Const,  of  111.  art.  13,  sees.  3  and  4 ;  Const,  of  Mo. 
art.  13,  sees.  4  and  5;  Const,  of  Oregon,  art.  1,  sees.  2- 
1 ;  Const,  of  Minn.  art.  1,  sees.  17  and  19;  Const,  of  Del. 
art.  1,  sees.  1  and  2.) 

Sec.  25.  IxDiAKA. — The  constitutional  provisions  are 
the  same  in  substance  as  in  the  foregoing  States. 
(Const,  of  Ind.  art.  1,  sees.  2-7.)  But  the  Bible  shall 
not  be  excluded  from  the  public  schools  of  the  State. 
(Com.  School  Laws  of  Lid.  1865,  sec.  167.) 

Sec.  26.  Iowa. — The  constitutional  provisions  are 
much  like  those  in  Alabama,  and  the  same  in  legal  effect. 
(Const,  of  Iowa,  art.  1,  sees.  3  and  4.)  But  the  Bible 
shall  not  be  excluded  from  any  school  or  institution  in 
this  State,  under  the  control  of  the  Board,  nor  shall  any 
pupil  be  required  to  read  it  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his 
parent  or  guardian.  (School  Laws  of  Iowa,  1864,  ch.  8, 
sec.  1.)     The  spirit  of  this  law,  it  seems  to  us,  is  more 


62  OF  RELIGION  IN  SCHOOLS, 

consistent  with  the  Constitution  of  the  State  than  is  the 
West- Virginia  or  Indiana  law  on  the  same  subject. 

Sec.  27.  Wiscoxsik.  —  The  constitutional  provisions 
are  the  same  in  legal  effect  here  as  in  Alabama.  (Const, 
of  Wis.  art.  1,  sees.  18,  19.)  But  the  Constitution  of 
this  State  also,  in  reference  to  district  schools,  provides 
that  "  no  sectarian  instruction  shall  be  allowed  therein." 
(Id.  art.  10,  sec.  3.)  We  think,  however,  that  this  pro- 
vision is  unnecessaiy,  as  what  it  provides  for  would 
naturally  follow  from  the  other  provisions. 

Sec.  28.  Califoexia. — The  provision  in  the  Consti- 
tution of  California  on  this  subject  is  similar  to  that 
in  the  Constitution  of  New-York,  and  the  same  in  le- 
gal effect.  (Const,  of  Cal.  art.  1,  sec.  4.)  No  books, 
tracts,  papers,  catechisms,  or  other  publications  of  a 
sectai'ian  or  denominational  character  shall  be  used  or 
distributed  in  any  school,  or  shall  be  made  a  part  of 
any  school  library ;  neither  shall  any  sectarian  or  de- 
nominational doctrine  be  taught  therein.  (Revised 
School  Law  of  Cal.  1866,  sec.  60.)  We  think  our 
friends  in  California  have  the  true  idea  of  religious  lib- 
erty. 

Sec.  29.  Kansas. — No  religious  sect  or  sects  shall 
ever  control  any  part  of  the  common  school  or  iniiver- 
sity  fund  of  the  State.    (Const,  of  Kansas,  art.  6,  sec.  8.) 

Sec.  30.  Pkater  in  School. — The  law  is  pretty 
much  the  same  in  all  the  States  on  this  subject.  We 
find  it  everywhere  written  in  blank.  Nothing  is  raoro 
certain,  however,  than  that  prayer  is  allowable  when  no 


AS  THE  LAW  IS.  63 

one  objects  to  it ;  but  it  should  always  be  f)erfectly  free 
from  sectarianism.  Prayer,  if  made  in  the  schools  estab- 
lished by  the  State,  should  be  made  in  the  spirit  of  the 
laws  of  the  State.  But  here  is  the  difficulty.  It  is  next 
to  impossible  for  an  individual  who  is  sectarian  to 
speak  and  act  in  every  instance  in  the  spirit  of  laws  that 
are  not  sectarian.  The  law,  generally  speaking,  regards 
all  sects  and  persuasions  with  perfect  impartiality ;  any 
teacher  who  can  do  the  same  thing  and  in  the  same 
spirit,  we  think,  may  reasonably  expect  to  be  permitted 
to  open  or  close  his  school  with  prayer  without  serious 
objection.  But,  in  the  language  of  the  Constitution  of 
Virginia,  "  it  is  the  mutual  duty  of  all  to  practice  Christ- 
ian forbearance,  love,  and  charity  toward  each  other." 
The  teacher  should  practice  forbearance,  love,  and  chai'- 
ity  toward  the  scholars  and  toward  their  parents,  and  he 
should  respect  their  opinions  and  wishes,  precisely  as  he 
would  have  his  own  respected  by  them.  If  he  can  do  this 
sincerely,  he  will  probably  be  permitted  to  open  or  close 
his  school  with  or  without  reading  and  prayer,  just  as 
he  may  deem  most  agreeable.  "We  hope  that  no  teacher 
who  knows  the  law  will  cease  praying  through  fear. 
The  other  and  better  way  will  be  to  make  the  spirit 
and  the  prayer  harmonize  with  the  law,  and  then  "  walk 
in  the  li^cht." 


CHAPTER    IV. 

CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT— PARENT  AND    CHILD. 

Sec.  1.  The  rights  of  parents  result  from  their  duties. 
Parents  are  bound  to  maintain  and  educate  their  child- 
ren ;  the  law  has  given  them  such  authority,  and  in 
the  supjiort  of  that  authority  a  right  to  the  exercise 
of  such  discipline  as  may  be  requisite  for  the  dis- 
charge of  their  sacred  tiaist.  This  is  the  true  founda- 
tion of  parental  power,  and  the  parent's  right  to  cor- 
rect, to  this  end  and  to  this  extent,  has  never  been  dis- 
puted by  Church  or  State.  "  He  that  spareth  his  rod 
hateth  his  son ;  but  he  that  loveth  him  chasteneth  him 
betimes."  (Prov.  13  :  24.)  Indeed,  this  power  of  the 
parent  over  the  person  and  liberty  of  the  child  was 
sometimes  carried  to  a  most  atrocious  extent.  The  i^un- 
ishment  for  disobedience  to  pai'ents,  under  the  Jewish 
law,  was  death.  "  And  they  shall  say  unto  the  ciders 
of  his  city,  This  our  son  is  stubborn  and  rebellious,  he 
will  not  obey  our  voice  ;  he  is  a  glutton,  and  a  drunkard. 
And  all  the  men  of  his  city  shall  stone  him  with  stones 
that  he  die."    (Deut.  21 :  18-21.) 

Sec.  2.  The  Persians,  Egyptians,  Greeks,  Gauls,  and 


CORPORAL   PUNISHMENT.  65 

Romans  allowed  to  the  fathers  absolute  dominion  over 
their  offspring  ;  but  the  Romans,  according  to  Justinian, 
exceeded  all  other  people,  and  the  liberty  and  the  lives 
of  the  children  were  placed  within  the  power  of  the 
father.  "Jus  autem  potestatis,  quod  in  liberos  habe- 
mus,  propriura  est  Romanorum,  nulli  enim  alii  sunt  hom- 
ines, qui  talem  in  liberos  habeant  potestatem,  qualem 
nos  habemus."  (Inst.  Just.  lib.  1,  tit.  9,  sec.  3.)  The 
power  of  the  father  over  the  life  of  the  child  Avas  greatly- 
weakened  in  public  opinion  by  the  time  of  Augustus, 
under  the  silent  operation  of  refined  manners  and  culti- 
vated morals.  It  was  looked  upon  as  obsolete  when  the 
Pandects  were  compiled.  Bynkershoek  was  of  opin- 
ion that  the  j^ower  ceased  under  the  Emperor  Hadrian, 
for  he  banished  a  father  for  killing  his  son.  The  Emper- 
or Constantine  made  the  crime  capital  as  to  adult  child- 
ren. In  the  age  of  Tacitus  the  exjDosing  of  infants  was 
unlawful ;  but  merely  holding  it  to  be  unlawful  was  not 
sufiicient.  "When  the  crime  of  exposing  and  killing  in- 
fants was  made  capital,  under  Valentinian  and  Yalens, 
then  the  practice  was  finally  abolished,  and  the  paternal 
power  became  itself  subject  to  the  standard  of  reason  and 
of  our  own  municipal  law,  which  admits  only  the  jus 
domesticce  amendationis,  or  the  right  of  inflicting  mod- 
crate  correction  under  the  exercise  of  a  sound  discretion. 
(2  Kent's  Com.  203  ;  Taylor's  Elements  of  the  Civil 
Law,  395;  Gibbon's  History,  vol.  8,  pp.  55-57;  Sallust, 
Bel.  Cat.  ch.  39;  Tacit,  de  Mor.  Ger.  ch.  19;  Bynkers- 
hoek Opera,  tome  1,  p.  346 ;  Heinec.  Syn.  Antiq.  Rom. 


66  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

Jur.  lib.  1.  tit.  9  ;  OjDera,  tome  4.)  Dr.  Taylor,  in  his 
Elements  of  Civil  Law,  (pp.  403-406,)  gives  a  concise 
history  of  the  progress  of  the  Roman  jurisj)rudence,  in 
its  efforts  to  destroy  this  undue  power  of  the  parent ; 
but  Bynkershoek  has  composed  a  regular  treatise,  with 
infinite  learning,  on  this  subject.  It  is  entitled  "  Opus- 
culum  de  jure  occidendi,  vendendi,  et  exponendi  Uberos 
apud  veteres  Romanos."  (Opera,  tome  1,  p.  346.)  Ilei- 
neccius  gives  the  history  of  the  Roman  jurisprudence 
from  Romulus  to  Justinian,  relative  to  this  tremendous 
jjower  of  the  father,  which,  he  says,  was  justly  termed 
by  the  Roman  authors  paU'ia  majestas.  The  obedience, 
and  even  gratitude,  of  children  to  their  parents  has  been 
in  all  times  considered  not  only  proper,  but  a  primary 
duty.  "Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother;  that  thy 
days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  giveththee."  (Exodus  20  :  12.)  We  have  already 
referred  to  the  great  power  given  to  the  parents  by 
the  Persians,  Egyptians,  Greeks,  Gauls,  and  Romans. 
Among  the  Hindoos,  disobedience  to  parents  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  loss  of  the  child's  inheritance.  (Gentoo  Code, 
by  Halhed,  p.  64.)  The  first  emigrants  to  Massachu- 
setts followed  the  Jewish  law,  and  made  filial  disobedi- 
ence a  capital  crime.  (Gov.  Hutchinson's  History  of 
Massachusetts,  vol.  1,  p.  441.)  Who  can  make  question 
but  that  a  man  that  hath  children  and  family,  both 
justly  may  and  in  duty  ought  to  preserve  them  of  his 
charge  (as  far  as  he  is  able)  from  the  dangerous  com- 
pany of  persons  inflicted  with  the  plague  or  pestilence, 


PARENT  AXD    CHILD.  67 

or  other  contagious,  noisome,  and  mortal  diseases,  and  if 
such  persons  should  offer  to  intrude  into  the  man's  house 
among  his  children  and  servants,  notwithstanding  his 
prohibition  and  warning  to  the  contrary,  and  thereby 
shall  endanger  the  health  and  the  lives  of  them  of  the 
family,  can  any  man  doubt  but  tliat  in  such  case  the 
father  of  the  family,  in  defense  of  liimself,  may  withstand 
the  intrusion  of  such  infected  and  dangerous  persons,  and 
if  otherwise  he  can  not  keep  them  out  may  kill  them  ? 
Now  in  Scripture  corruption  in  mind  or  judgment  is 
counted  a  great  infection  or  defilement,  yea,  and  one 
of  the  greatest ;  for  the  apostle  saying  of  some  men, 
that  to  them  there  is  nothing  pure,  gives  this  as  the  rea- 
son of  it,  because  even  their  mind  and  conscience  is 
defiled,  (Titus  1  :  15,)  as  if  defilement  of  mind  did  ar- 
gue the  defilement  of  all;  and  that  in  such  case  there 
was  nothing  pure,  even  as,  when  leprosy  was  in  the 
head,  the  priest  must  pronounce  such  a  man  utterly 
unclean,  sith  the  plague  was  in  his  head.  (Levit.  13  :  44.) 
And  it  is  the  Lord's  command  that  such  corrupt 
persons  be  not  received  into  house,  (2  John  10,)  which 
plainly  enough  implies  that  the  householder  hath  power 
to  keep  them  out,  and  that  it  was  not  within  their  power 
to  come  in  if  they  pleased,  whether  the  householder  would 
or  no.  (Colonial  Records  of  Mass.)  If  any  child  or 
children  above  sixteen  years  old,  and  of  competent  un- 
derstanding, shall  curse  or  smite  their  natural  father  or 
mother,  he  or  they  shall  be  put  to  death,  unless  it  can  be 
sufficiently  testified  that  the  parents  have  been  very  un- 


68  CORPORAL  PUmsmiENT, 

christianly  negligent  in  the  education  of  such  children, 
or  so  provoked  them  Iby  extreme  and  cruel  correction 
that  they  have  been  forced  thereunto  to  preserve  them- 
selves from  death  or  maiming.  (Lavrs  of  New-Ply- 
mouth, Mass.  1671.)  If  a  man  have  a  stulpborn  or  rebel- 
lious son,  of  sufficient  years  and  understaiading,  namely, 
sixteen  years  of  age,  Avhich  shall  not  obey  the  voice  of 
his  father  or  the  voice  of  his  mother,  and  that,  when  they 
have  chastened  him,  will  not  hearken  unto  them,  then 
shall  his  father  or  mother,  being  his  natural  parents,  lay 
hold  on  him,  and  bring  him  before  the  magistrates  as- 
sembled in  court,  aud  testify  uuto  them  that  their  son  is 
stubborn  and  rebellious,  and  will  not  obey  their  voice 
and  chastisement,  but  lives  in  sundry  notorious  crimes ; 
such  a  son  shall  be  put  to  death,  or  otherwise  severely 
punished.  (lb.)  These  same  laws  were  in  force  in  Con- 
necticut as  early  as  1642,  and  the  following  scriptural 
authorities  were  cited  in  their  support:  Ex.21  :  17; 
Lev.  20  ;    Ex.  20  :  15  ;    Deut.  21  :  20,  21. 

Sec.  3.  We  believe  that  all  goA^ernraents  and  all  peo- 
ples have  regarded  filial  disobedience  with  great  disfa- 
vor. Even  filial  ingratitude  among  the  ancient  Greeks 
seems  to  have  been  looked  upon  as  extremely  impious, 
and  attended  with  the  most  certain  effects  of  divine 
vengeance.  (Iliad,  book  9,  v.  454.)  In  modern  times, 
the  right  of  the  parent  to  exact  obedience  from  his  chil- 
dren is  still  conceded,  but  his  powers  for  enforcing  his 
commands  are  nioi-e  in  consonance  with  the  civilization 
of  the  times.     In  English  law,  the  parent  may  lawfully 


PARENT  AND   CHILD.  69 

correct  bis  child,  being  under  age,  in  a  reasonable  man- 
ner, (1  Blackstone,  452.)  So  also  in  American  law. 
(2  Kent's  Com.  203.)  There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the 
parent's  j^ower  to  enforce  his  authority  to  this  extent. 
So  long  as  he  keeps  within  the  bounds  of  reason,  he  will 
be  protected,  and  aided,  if  need  be,  by  the  law. 

"  Honor  tliy  parents  to  prolong  tliine  end ; 
With  them,  thongli  for  truth,  do  not  contend : 
Though  all  should  truth  defend,  do  thou  lose  rather 
The  truth  aicMle,  than  lose  their  love  forever. 
Whoever  makes  Ms  father's  heart  to  bleed 
Shall  have  a  child  that  will  revenge  the  deed." 


CHAPTER  V. 

CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT— TEACHER  AND  PUPIL. 

Sec.  1.  A  school-master  is  liable  criminally  if,  iu  inflict- 
ing pmiishment  upon  his  pupil,  he  goes  beyond  the  limit 
of  reasonable  castigation,  and,  either  in  the  mode  or  de- 
gree of  correction,  is  guilty  of  any  unreasonable  or  dispro- 
portionate violence  or  force;  and  whether  the  punish- 
ment was  excessive  under  the  circiimstances  of  any  case, 
is  a  question  for  the  jury.  (Commonwealth  v.  Randall,  4 
Gray,  36  ;  3  Greenl.  on  Ev.  sec.  63.)  He  is  also  liable  to 
be  dismissed  for  cruelty.  Teachers  are  not  often  bar- 
barous, yet  it  may  not  be  improper  to  state  here  that  the 
law  is  a  strong  power  to  protect  the  weak  from  injustice, 
and  to  take  from  the  strong  a  full  equivalent  for  the 
wrongs  which  they  may  commit.  When  the  Hon.  John 
A.  Dix  was  Superintendent  of  Schools  for  the  State  of 
New- York,  he  gave  the  following  as  his  opinion :  The 
practice  of  inflicting  corporal  pxmislwxent  uj^on  scholars, 
in  any  case  whatever^  has  no  sanction  but  usage.  The 
teacher  is  resiDonsible  for  maintaining  good  order,  and 
he  must  be  the  judge  of  the  degree  and  nature  of  the 
punishment  required  when  his  authority  is  set  at  defi- 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  71 

ance.  At  the  same  time  lie  is  liable  to  the  party  injured 
for  any  abuse  of  a  prerogative  lohich  is  loholly  derived 
from  custom.  (Supt.  Common  Schools  Decisions,  102.) 
Many  very  well-infoiTaed  and  well-meaning  people  are, 
in  these  latter  days,  beginning  to  doubt  whether  corpo- 
ral punishment  is  under  any  ch'cumstances  advisable  or 
excusable.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana  expresses 
itself  on  this  subject  as  follows :  The  law  still  tolerates 
corporal  punishment  in  the  school-room.  The  authorities 
are  all  that  way,  and  the  legislature  has  not  thought 
proj^er  to  interfere.  The  public  seems  to  cling  to  a  des- 
potism in  the  government  of  schools  which  has  been 
discarded  everywhere  else.  Whether  such  training  be 
congenial  to  our  institutions,  and  favorable  to  the  full 
development  of  the  future  man,  is  worthy  of  serious  con- 
sideration, though  not  for  us  to  discuss.  In  one  respect 
the  tendency  of  the  rod  is  so  evidently  evil  that  it  might 
perhaps  be  arrested  on  the  ground  of  public  policy.  The 
practice  has  an  inherent  proneness  to  abuse.  The  very 
act  of  whipping  engenders  passion,  and  very  generally 
leads  to  excess.  Where  one  or  two  stripes  only  were 
intended,  several  usually  follow,  each  increasing  in  vigor 
as  the  act  of  striking  inflames  the  passions.  This  is  a 
matter  of  daily  observation  and  experience.  Hence  the 
spirit  of  the  law  is,  and  the  leaning  of  the  courts  should 
be,  to  discountenance  a  practice  which  tends  to  excite 
human  passions  to  heated  and  excessive  action,  ending 
in  abuse  and  breaches  of  the  peace.  Such  a  system  of 
petty  tyranny  can  not  be  watched  too  cautiously,  nor 


72  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

guarded  too  strictly.  The  tender  age  of  the  sufferers 
forbids  that  its  slightest  abuse  should  be  tolerated.  So 
long  as  the  power  to  punish  corporally  in  schools  exists, 
it  needs  to  be  put  under  wholesome  restrictions.  Teach- 
ers should,  therefore,  understand  that  whenever  correc- 
tion is  administered  in  anger  or  insolence,  or  in  any  other 
manner  than  in  moderation  and  kindness,  accompanied 
with  that  affectionate  moral  suasion  so  eminently  due 
from  one  placed  by  the  law  "  m  loco  2^ctrentis  " — in  the 
sacred  relation  of  jDarent — the  court  must  consider  them 
guilty  of  assault  and  battery,  the  more  aggravated  and 
wanton  in  proportion  to  the  tender  years  and  dependent 
position  of  the  puj)il.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  but  that 
public  opinion  will,  in  time,  strike  the  ferule  from  the 
hands  of  the  teacher,  leaving  him,  as  the  true  basis  of 
government,  only  the  resources  of  his  intellect  and  heart. 
Such  is  the  only  policy  worthy  of  the  State,  and  of  her 
otherwise  enlightened  and  liberal  institutions.  It  is  the 
policy  of  progress.  The  husband  can  no  longer  moder- 
ately chastise  his  wife ;  nor,  according  to  the  more  recent 
authorities,  the  master  his  servant  or  apiDrentice.  Even 
the  degrading:  cruelties  of  the  naval  service  have  been 
arrested.  Why  the  person  of  the  school-boy,  "  with  his 
shining  morning  face,"  should  be  less  sacred  in  the  eye 
of  the  law  than  that  of  the  apprentice  or  sailor,  is  not 
easily  explained.  It  is  regretted  that  such  are  the  au- 
thorities, still  courts  ai'e  bound  by  them.  All  that  can 
be  done,  without  the  aid  of  legislation,  is  to  hold  every 
case  strictly  within  the  rule ;  and  if  the  correction  be  in 


Ti:ACHER  AND  PUPIL.  YS 

anger,  or  in  any  other  respect  immoderately  or  im- 
properly administered,  to  hold  the  unworthy  perpetrator 
guilty  of  assault  and  battery.  The  law  having  elevated 
the  teacher  to  the  place  of  the  parent,  if  he  is  still  to  sus- 
tain that  saci'ed  relation,  "  it  becomes  him  to  be  careful 
in  the  exercise  of  his  authority,  and  not  make  his  power 
a  pretext  for  cruelty  and  oppression."  (14  Johns.  R. 
119.)  Whenever  he  undertakes  to  exercise  it,  the  caicse 
must  be  sufficient ;  the  instrument  suitable  to  the  purpose  ; 
the  manner  and  extent  of  the  correction,  tJie  part  of  the 
person  to  which  it  is  applied,  the  temper  in  which  it  is  in- 
flicted— all  should  be  distinguished  with  the  kindness, 
prudence,  and  propriety  which  become  the  station. 
(Cooper  V.  McJunkin,  4  Indiana  R.  290,)  This  court 
has  more  sympathy  for  roguish  youths  and  less  for  hec- 
tored teachers  than  any  other,  we  believe,  in  the  land. 
To  our  mind  the  reason  why  the  law  gives  the  teacher 
the  right  to  i^unish  is  very  clear  and  easily  explained, 
but  it  does  not  seem  to  be  so  to  this  court. 

Sec.  2.  A  parent  is  justified  in  correcting  a  child 
either  corporally  or  by  confinement,  and  a  school-master 
itnder  whose  care  and  instruction  a  parent  has  placed 
his  child  is  equally  justified  in  similar  correction ;  but 
the  correction  in  both  cases  must  be  moderate,  and  in  a 
proper  manner.  A  school-master  stands  in  loco  j^arentis 
in  relation  to  the  pupils  committed  to  his  charge,  while 
they  are  under  his  care,  so  far  as  to  enforce  obedience 
to  his  commands,  lawfully  given  in  his  capacity  of 
school-master,  and  he  may  therefore   enforce   them  by 


74  CORPORAL  rumSHMENT, 

moderate  correction.  (Co)ii.  Dig.  Pleader,  3,  M.  19; 
Hawk.  c.  60,  sec.  23  ;  and  c.  63,  sec.  2^  c.  29,  sec.  5.)  To 
nse  the  language  of  Chief-Justice  Holt,  "A  master  may 
justify  the  beating  of  liis  scliolar,  if  the  beating  be  in  the 
nature  of  correction  only,  and  with  a  proper  instrument." 
(Precedents  of  Pleas,  2  R.  P.  C.  P.  47-51  ;  Rastall's 
Ent.  613,  pi.  IS;  2  Chit.  PI.  553;  9  Wend.  355;  Peter- 
dorff.  Index,  29G.)  The  power  allowed  by  law  to  the 
parent  over  the  person  of  the  child  maybe  delegated  to 
a  tutor  or  instructor,  the  better  to  accomplish  the  pur- 
pose of  education.  (2  Kent  Cora.  205.)  A  school-mas- 
ter stands  in  loco  'parentis^  and  may  in  proper  cases 
inflict  moderate  and  reasonable  chastisement.  (The 
State  V.  Pendergast,  2  Dev.  <fc  Battle,  365.)  Although 
a  town  (or  common)  school  is  instituted  by  the  statute, 
the  children  are  to  be  considered  as  put  in  chai-ge  of  the 
instructor  for  the  same  purirose,  and  to  be  clothed  with 
the  same  power,  as  when  he  is  directly  employed  by  the 
parent.  The  power  of  the  ])arent  to  restrain  and  coerce 
obedience  in  children  can  not  be  doubted,  and  it  has 
seldom  or  never  been  denied.  The  power  delegated  to 
the  master  by  the  parent  must  be  accompanied,  for  the 
time,  with  the  same  right  as  incidental,  or  the  object 
Bought  must  tail  of  accomplishment.  (Stevens  v.  Fassett, 
27  Maine,  280.)  The  tutor  or  school-master  has  such  a 
portion  of  the  power  of  the  parent  to  restrain  and  cor- 
rect as  may  be  necessary  to  answer  the  purposes  for 
which  he  Avas  employed.  (1  Blackstone,  453.)  The 
power  (uu.st  be  temperately  exercised,  howevei-,  and  no 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  ^5 

school-master  should  feel  himself  at  liberty  to  administer 
ehastiseraent  coextensively  with  the  parent,  however 
much  the  infant  delinquent  might  appear  to  liave  de- 
served it.  (3  Barn  wall  &  Alderson's  R.  584.)  If  a 
person  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  voluntarily  attend 
a  town  (or  any)  school,  and  is  received  as  a  scholar  by 
the  instructor,  he  has  the  same  rights  and  duties,  and  is 
under  the  same  restrictions  and  liabilities,  as  if  he  were 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  (27  Maine,  266.) 
This,  it  will  be  understood,  is  true  generally,  but  there 
may,  of  course,  be  a  special  contract,  which,  when  it 
exists  and  is  legally  made,  may  give  unusual  rights  and 
privileges  to  either  party.  "Where  a  scholar,  in  school 
houi's,  places  himself  (with  or  Avithout  permission)  in  the 
desk  of  the  instructor,  and  refuses  to  leave  it  on  the 
request  of  the  master,  such  scholar  may  be  lawfully  re- 
moved by  the  master ;  and  for  that  purpose  he  may 
immediately  use  such  force,  and  call  to  his  assistance 
such  aid,  from  any  other  person,  (or  persons,)  as  may  be 
necessary  to  accomplish  the  object ;  and  the  case  is  the 
same  if  the  person  removed  is  over  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  or  not  a  scholar,  but  a  j^erson  having  no  right 
in  the  school.  The  school-house  is  in  the  charge  and 
under  the  control  of  the  authorized  teacher,  so  far  as  is 
necessary  for  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  teacher. 
The  law  clothes  every  person  with  the  power  to  use 
force  sufficient  to  remove  one  who  is  an  intruder  upon 
his  possessions,  and  the  school-house  is  for  certain  pur- 
poses  the  teacher's   close,  his  kingdom,  or  his  castle. 


V6  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

The  teacher  has  responsible  duties  to  perform,  and  he  is 
entitled  in  la^y  and  in  reason  to  employ  the  means  neces- 
sary therefor.  It  is  his  business  to  exact  obedience  in 
the  school-room,  and  it  is  his  legal  right.  (Stevens  v. 
Fassett,  27  Maine,  266.) 

Sec.  3.  The  teacher  to  have  the  benefit  of  any  reason- 
aUe  doiibt. — The  Supreme  Court  of  Vermont  recently 
gave  a  very  able  opinion  on  this  subject,  from  which  we 
extract  the  following :  A  school-master  has  the  right  to 
inflict  reasonable  corporal  punishment.  He  must  exer- 
cise reasonable  judgment  and  discretion  in  determining 
when  to  punish  and  to  what  extent.  In  determining 
upon  what  is  a  reasonable  punishment,  various  consider- 
ations must  be  regarded — the  nature  of  the  offense,  the 
apparent  motive  and  disposition  of  the  offender,  the  in- 
fluence of  his  example  and  conduct  upon  others,  and  the 
sex,  age,  size,  and  strength  of  the  pupil  to  be  punished. 
Among  reasonable  persons  much  difference  prevails  as 
to  the  circumstances  which  will  justify  the  infliction  of 
punishment,  and  the  extent  to  which  it  may  properly  be 
administered.  On  account  of  this  difference  of  opinion 
and  the  difficulty  which  exists  in  determining  what  is  a 
reasonable  punishment,  and  the  advantage  which  the  mas- 
ter has  by  being  on  the  spot  to  know  all  the  circumstan- 
ces,  the  manner,  look,  tone,  gestures  of  the  offender, 
(which  are  not  always  easily  described,)  and  thus  to  fonu 
a  correct  opinion  as  to  the  necessity  and  extent  of  the 
punishment,  considerable  allowance  should  be  made  to 
the  teacher  by  way  of  }>rotecting  him  in  the  exercise  of 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  77 

his  discretion.  Especially  should  he  have  this  indul- 
gence when  he  appears  to  have  acted  from  good  motives, 
and  not  from  anger  or  malice.  Hence  the  teacher  is  not 
to  be  held  liable  on  the  ground  of  excess  of  punishment, 
unless  the  punishment  is  clearly  excessive,  and  would  be 
held  so  in  the  general  judgment  of  reasonable  men.  If 
the  punishment  be  thus  clearly  excessive,  then  the  mas- 
ter should  be  held  liable  for  such  excess,  though  he  acted 
from  good  motives  in  inflicting  the  punishment,  and,  in 
his  own  judgment,  considered  it  necessary  and  not  ex- 
cessive. But  if  there  is  any  reasonable  doubt  whether 
the  punishment  was  excessive,  the  master  should  have 
the  benefit  of  that  doubt.  (Lander  v.  Seaver,  32  Ver- 
mont R.  123;  19  lb.  108;  4  Gray,  37;  2  Dever.  and 
Bat.  365;  3  Salk.  47;  Reeves'  Domestic  Rel.  374,  375; 
Wharton's  Amer.  Crim.  Law,  1259;  and  1  Sanders  on 
PI.  and  Ev.  144.) 

Sec.  4.  A  lady  teacher  in  trouble. — This  was  an  indict- 
ment for  assault  and  battery.  The  defendant,  Rachel 
Pendergrass,  kept  a  school  for  small  children,  and  pun- 
ished one  of  them  with  a  rod  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
leave  marks,  all  of  which  were  such  as  were  likely  to  pass 
away  in  a  short  time  and  leave  no  permanent  injury. 
The  judge  instructed  the  jury  that,  if  they  believed  that 
the  child  (six  or  seven  years  of  age)  had  been  whipj^ed 
by  the  defendant  at  that  tender  age,  with  either  a  switch 
or  other  instrument,  so  as  to  produce  the  marks  described 
to  them,  the  defendant  was  guilty.  The  jury  under  this 
charge  returned  a  verdict  of  guilty ;  but  Rachel  took  ex- 


78  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

ceptions  to  the  charge,  and  the  case  "was  afterward  ar- 
gued in  the  higher  court,  in  which  the  following  opinion 
was  delivered  for  that  gallant  court  by  Judge  Gaston : 
It  is  not  easy  to  state  with  precision  the  power  which 
the  law  grants  to  school-masters  and  teachers  with  re- 
spect to  the  correction  of  their  jjuiails.  It  is  analogous 
to  that  which  belongs  to  parents,  and  the  authority  of 
the  teacher  is  regarded  as  a  delegation  of  parental  au- 
thority. One  of  the  most  sacred  duties  of  jDarents  is  to 
train  up  and  qualify  their  children  for  becoming  useful 
and  virtuous  members  of  society ;  this  duty  can  not  be 
effectually  performed  without  the  ability  to  command 
obedience,  to  control  stubbornness,  to  quicken  diligence, 
and  to  reform  bad  habits ;  and  to  enable  him  to  exercise 
this  salutary  sway,  he  is  armed  Avith  the  power  to  ad- 
minister moderate  correction  when  he  shall  believe  it  to 
be  just  and  necessary.  The  teacher  is  the  substitute  of 
the  parent ;  is  charged  in  part  with  the  performance  of 
his  duties,  and  in  the  exercise  of  these  delegated  duties 
is  invested  with  his  power.  The  law  has  not  undertaken 
to  prescribe  stated  j^nnishments  for  particular  offenses, 
but  has  contented  itself  with  the  general  grant  of  the 
poAver  of  moderate  correction,  and  has  confided  the 
graduation  of  punishments,  Avithin  the  limits  of  this 
grant,  to  the  discretion  of  the  teacher.  The  line  Avhich 
separates  moderate  correction  from  immoderate  punish- 
ment can  only  be  ascertained  by  reference  to  general 
principles.  The  Avelfare  of  the  child  is  the  main  purpose 
for  which  punishment  is  permitted  to  be  inflicted.     Any 


TEACHER  AXD  PUPIL.  *i^ 

punishment,  therefore,  which  may  seriously  endanger  life, 
limbs,  or  health,  or  shall  disfigure  the  child,  or  cause  any 
other  pcT-manent  mjury,  may  be  pronounced  in  itself  im- 
moderate, as  not  only  being  unnecessary  for,  but  incon- 
sistent with,  the  purpose  for  which  correction  is  author- 
ized. But  any  correction,  however  severe,  which  pro- 
duces temporary  pain  only,  and  no  j)ermanent  ill,  can  not 
be  so  pronounced,  since  it  may  have  been  necessary  for 
the  reformation  of  the  child,  and  does  not  injuriously  af- 
fect its  future  welfare.  We  hold,  therefore,  that  it  may 
be  laid  down  as  general  rule,  tliat  teachers  exceed  the 
limits  of  their  authority  when  they  cause  lasting  mischief, 
but  act  within  the  limits  of  it  when  they  inflict  tempo- 
rary pain.  When  the  correction  administered  is  not  in 
itself  immodei-ate,  and  therefore  beyond  the  authority  of 
the  teacher,  its  legality  or  illegality  must  depend  entirely, 
we  think,  on  the  quo  aniino  with  which  it  was  adminis- 
tered. Within  the  sphere  of  his  authority,  the  master  is 
the  jvtdge  when  correction  is  required,  and  of  the  degree 
of  correction  necessary ;  and  like  all  others  intrusted  with 
a  discretion,  he  can  not  be  made  penally  resiDonsible  for 
error  of  judgment,  but  onl}"  for  wickedness  of  purpose. 
The  best  and  the  wisest  of  mortals  are  weak  and  erring 
creatures,  and  in  the  exercise  of  functions  in  which  their 
judgment  is  to  be  the  guide  can  not  be  rightfully  re- 
quired to  engage  for  more  than  honesty  of  purpose  and 
diligence  of  exertion.  His  judgment  nxw^t  he  2^'>'esitmed 
correct,  because  he  is  the  judge,  and  also  because  of 
the   difficulty  of  proving  the  offense   or   accumulation 


80  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

of  offenses  that  called  for  correction ;  of  showing 
the  peculiar  temperament,  disposition,  and  habits  of 
the  individual  corrected;  and  of  exhibiting  the  vari- 
ous milder  means  that  may  have  been  ineffectually 
used  before  correction  was  resorted  to.  But  the  master 
may  be  punished  when  he  does  not  transcend  the 
powers  granted,  if  he  grossly  abuses  them.  If  he  use 
his  authority  as  a  cover  for  malice,  and  under  j^retense 
of  administering  correction  gratify  his  own  bad  passions, 
the  mask  of  the  judge  shall  be  taken  off,  and  he  shall  stand 
amenable  to  justice,  as  an  individual  not  invested  with 
judicial  power.  "We  believe  that  these  are  the  rules 
applicable  to  the  decision  of  the  case  before  us.  If  they 
be,  there  was  error  in  the  instruction  given  to  the  jury, 
that  if  the  child  was  whipped  by  the  defendant  so  as  to 
occasion  the  marks  described  by  the  prosecutor,  the 
defendant  had  exceeded  her  authority,  and  was  guilty 
as  charged.  The  marks  were  all  temporary,  and  in  a 
short  time  all  disappeared.  No  permanent  injury  Avas 
done  to  the  child.  The  only  appearances  that  could 
warrant  the  belief  or  suspicion  that  the  correction 
threatened  permanent  injury  were  the  bruises  on  the 
neck  and  the  arms ;  and  these,  to  say  the  least,  were  too 
equivocal  to  justify  the  court  in  assuming  that  they 
did  threaten  such  mischief.  We  think  that  the  instruc- 
tion on  this  point  should  have  been,  that  unless  the 
jury  could  clearly  infer  from  the  evidence  that  the  cor- 
rection inflicted  had  produced,  or  was  in  its  nature  cal- 
culated to  j)roduce,  lasting  injury  to  the  child,  it  did  not 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  81 

exceed  tlie  limits  of  the  power  which  had  been  granted 
to  the  defendant.  We  think,  also,  that  the  jury  should 
have  been  farther  instructed,  that  however  severe  the 
pain  inflicted,  and  however,  in  their  judgment,  it  might 
seem  disproportionate  to  the  alleged  negligence  or 
offense  of  so  young  and  tender  a  child,  yet  if  it  did  not 
produce  or  threaten  lasting  mischief,  it  was  their  duty 
to  acquit  the  defendant;  unless  the  facts  testified  in- 
duced a  conviction  in  their  minds  that  the  defendant  did 
not  act  honestly  in  the  performance  of  duty,  according 
to  her  sense  of  right,  but  under  the  pretext  of  duty  was 
gratifying  malice.  We  think  that  rules  less  liberal 
toward  teachers  can  not  be  laid  down  without  bi'eaking 
in  upon  the  authority  necessaiy  for  preserving  disci- 
jjline  and  commanding  respect,  and  that,  although  these 
rules  leave  it  in  their  power  to  commit  acts  of  indis- 
creet severity  with  legal  impunity,  these  indiscretions 
will  probably  find  their  check  and  correction  in  parental 
affection  and  in  public  opinion ;  and  if  they  should  not, 
that  they  must  be  tolerated  as  a  part  of  those  imper- 
fections and  inconveniences  Avhich  no  human  laws  can 
wholly  remove  or  redress.  (The  State  v.  Pendergrass,  2 
Dever.  and  Bat.  R.  365.)  The  opinion  of  this  court, 
that  "the  welfiire  of  the  child  is  the  main  jDurjiose  for 
which  punishment  is  permitted  to  be  inflicted,"  may  be 
correct,  but  the  welfare  of  the  school  can  be  hardly  less 
important. 

Sec.  5.   The  law  is  silent  on  the  subject  of  corporal 
punishment  in  schools.     It  neither  grants  nor  withholds 


82  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

authority  to  inflict  it.  The  whole  subject  is  left  to  the 
judgment  and  discretion  of  the  local  school  authorities, 
and  to  the  sanction  of  general  usage  and  custom.  That 
the  teacher  must  be  clothed  with  authority  to  use  the  rod 
in  certain  cases  is  self-evident.  It  grows  out  of  the  very 
nature  of  the  case,  and  of  his  relations  to  his  pupils. 
The  prudent  exercise  of  such  authority  is  acquiesced  in 
by  the  opinions  and  practice  of  the  whole  country,  and 
is  almost  invariably  sustained  by  the  coui'ts,  on  the 
ground,  not  of  statutory  enactments,  but  of  common  cus- 
tom, common  sense,  common  justice,  and  the  nature  and 
necessity  of  the  case.  It  is  only  the  flagrant  abuse  of  the 
admitted  right  which  either  society  or  the  law  is  dis- 
posed to  frown  upon  and  condemn.  (Am.  School  Laws 
of  111.  1865,  p.  190,  dec.  15.)  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that, 
in  order  to  support  an  indictment  for  assault  and  battery, 
it  is  necessary  to  show  that  it  was  committed  ex  inten- 
tione,  and  that,  if  the  criminal  intent  is  wanting,  the 
ofiense  is  not  made  out.  But  this  intent  is  always 
inferred  from  the  unlawful  act.  The  unreasonable  and 
excessive  use  of  force  on  the  person  of  another  being 
proved,  the  wrongful  intent  is  a  necessary  and  legitimate 
conclusion  in  all  cases  where  the  act  was  designedly 
committed.  It  then  becomes  an  assault  and  battery, 
because  purposely  inflicted  without  justification  or  ex- 
cuse. Whether,  under  all  the  facts,  the  punishment  of 
the  pupil  is  excessive  must  be  left  to  the  jury  to  decide. 
(Commonwealth  v.  Randall,  4  Gray,  38.) 
Sec.  6.  To  the  Stq^i^eme  Court  of  Indiana,     (See  sec. 


TEACHER  AXD  PUFIL.  83 

1.)  What  is  the  great  end  of  a  system  of  public  schools 
supported  by  the  state  ?  Can  the  answer  to  this  fun- 
damental inquiry  be  more  comprehensively  ei3itomized 
than  in  this  proposition  ?  The  chief  end  is  to  make  good 
citizens.  Not  to  make  precocious  scholars ;  not  to  make 
smart  boys  and  girls ;  not  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  parents 
and  friends ;  not  to  impart  the  secret  of  acquking  wealth  ; 
not  to  confer  the  means  of  achieving  the  ends  of  per- 
sonal ambition ;  not  to  enable  the  youth  to  shine  in  soci- 
ety ;  not  to  qualify  directly  for  professional  success  ;  not 
one  or  all  of  these,  but  simply,  in  the  widest  and  truest 
sense,  to  make  good  citizens.  The  state,  as  such,  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  foregoing  enumerated  objects;  it 
leaves  them  all  to  other  agents  and  other  influences.  If 
parents  seek  brilliant  scholarship,  morbid  precociousness, 
social  prei.'uainence,  affluence,  or  professional  distinction 
for  their  children,  the  state  has  nothing  to  say ;  but  in- 
asmuch as  none  of  these  things  are  essential  to  a  true  and 
noble  citizenship,  the  state  will  not  enact  laws,  frame 
systems,  levy  taxes,  build  school-houses,  and  employ 
teachers  to  enable  those  parents  to  carry  out  their  de- 
signs. That  such  selfish  and  subordinate  ends  are  often 
sought  through,  and  to  some  extent  j^romoted  by,  the 
public  schools  is  true,  but  it  is  not  the  object  of  pub- 
lic schools  to  foster  such  ends.  The  aim  of  the  common- 
wealth is  higher  and  broader.  It  has  to  do  vnXh  the 
child  only  in  its  civil  relations,  as  a  member  of  the  great 
body  politic ;  not,  primarily^  in  its  home  relations,  as  a 
member  of  the  family.     And  yet,  in  an  important  sense, 


84  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

the  state  derives  its  highest  and  truest  ideas  of  educa- 
tion from  that  divinely  instituted  and  most  perfect  fomi 
of  government — that  of  the  family.  For  those  very 
habits  and  qualities  which  make  home  pure  and  tranquil 
and  hapj)y,  being  continued  and  transferred  from  the 
child  to  the  citizen,  insure  an  orderly,  virtuous,  and 
peaceful  state.  Indeed,  the  family  is  the  smallest  or- 
ganized subdivision  of  the  state,  and  the  aims  of  public 
education  are  substantially  accomplished  when  the  les- 
sons of  duty  to  the  former  are  simply  expanded  so  as  to 
comprehend  the  latter.  If  the  individual  families  are 
well  governed  and  virtuous,  the  commonwealth  can  not 
be  turbulent  and  vicious ;  for  the  members  of  such  fam- 
ilies will  recognize  their  obligations  to  the  state,  as  its 
political  children,  not  less  cordially  than  their  obligations 
to  their  parents.  This  view  so  simplifies  our  problem 
that  we  have  now  but  to  inquire  what  is  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  the  family,  what  it  is  to  be  in  the  largest 
sense  a  good  child,  and  we  shall  know,  very  nearly,  what 
is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  the  state,  what  it  is  to  be  a 
good  citizen.  Without  any  argument  on  this  point,  it 
will  be  conceded  that  obedience  to  the  parental  author- 
ity is  a  primary  attribute  of  the  good  child.  Even  so, 
cordial  sid)niif 31071  to  lawful  authority  is  a  primary  attri- 
bute of  good  citizenship. 

Time  need  not  be  consumed  Jipon  this  as  an  abstract 
proposition.  Its  truth  is  founded  in  the  essential  nature 
of  all  civil  compacts.  There  can  be  no  such  thing  as 
government  without  it.    We  all  know  that  it  is  the  very 


TEACHER  AND  PUFIL.  85 

cement  of  the  body  politic,  without  \yhich  its  symmetri- 
cal frame-work  would  part  asunder  in  a  day,  and  auai'chy 
rise  upon  the  ruins  of  order. 

But  obedience  to  justly  constituted  authority  may  be 
voluntary  or  involuntary.  It  may  be  cheerfully  accorded 
from  an  intelligent  conviction  that  it  is  reasonable  and 
right ;  or  it  may  be  extorted  by  an  arbitrary  will,  armed 
with  irresponsible  jjower.  The  former  is  the  boast  of 
our  republican  freedom ;  the  latter  is  the  essence  of  des- 
potism. The  one  is  born  of  a  grateful  and  joyous  al- 
legiance to  the  benignant  power  whose  strong  arm  is 
ever  extended  to  protect  and  bless,  never  to  oppress  and 
wrong ;  the  other  is  sullenly  conceded,  through  fear  of 
the  bayonet  and  bastile.  But  however  antagonistic  in 
theory  and  in  their  ordinary  modes  of  action,  there  is  a 
maxim  which  all  governments  must  of  necessity  hold  in 
common.  It  is  this :  coercion,  in  the  last  resort ;  force, 
when  all  other  means  fail.  First,  the  olive-branch,  and, 
if  that  will  not  avail,  then  the  sword.  When  incorrigi- 
ble iniquity  and  crime  have  finished  theii*  course,  inex- 
orable justice  demands  that  her  uplifted  ax  shall  fall. 
No  human  government  ever  did  or  can  exist  upon  any 
other  hypothesis.  Its  ministers  must  be  clothed  with 
the  means  of  enforcing  the  claims  of  justice.  The  maj- 
esty of  the  law  must  be  vindicated.  It  requires  absolute 
and  unequivocal  obedience ;  it  can  require  no  less.  When 
guilt  and  crime  force  the  issue,  from  the  folds  of  her 
peaceful  ermine  leaps  forth  the  naked  sword;  the  soft 
hand  that  writes  the  verdict  must  be  mailed  with  steel 


86  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

for  its  execution.  There  is  no  alternative ;  there  can  be 
none.  The  mandate  must  be  obeyed  or  the  government 
dies.  In  civil  governments,  since  the  world  began,  the 
doctrine  of  "  moral  suasion  only  "  belongs  to  Utopia,  not 
to  history. 

And  is  it  not  time  that  this  dangerous  fallacy  were 
banished  from  our  educational  policy  also?  Can  that 
doctrine  be  safe  for  the  school  which  is  fatal  to  the 
state?  Is  it  the  way  to  make  good  citizens  to  instill 
principles  in  the  school-room  which  are  at  war  with  the 
cardinal  ideas  of  civil  government  ?  Do  Ave  not  need  a 
truer  and  sterner  philosophy  on  this  subject?  Are  not 
the  times  upon  which  we  have  fallen  feai'fully  suggest- 
ive? This  matter  is  of  so  fundamental  a  character,  and 
so  serious  in  its  bearings  iipon  the  present  and  future 
of  our  schools  and  of  our  country,  that  it  demands  an 
earnest  examination.  By  many  good  men  and  eminent 
teachers  the  rod  is  wholly  excluded  from  the  precincts 
of  the  school-room ;  force  is  never  to  be  resorted  to  ;  the 
ordeal  of  physical  suffering  is  peremjatorily  denied  a 
place  in  the  catalogue  of  allowable  disciplinary  school 
agencies.  The  vicious  youths  whom  the  state  gathers 
into  its  schools  to  make  good  citizens  of,  it  humors 
awhile,  and  then,  finding  them  unwilling,  without  coer- 
cion, to  submit  to  the  proper  and  necessary  training,  it 
turns  them  adrift  again,  and  lets  them  grow  up  in  their 
obstinacy,  fit  subjects  for  crime  and  rebellion.  Now, 
why  is  this  ?  Is  it  founded  in  a  really  sounder  and 
deeper  philosophy  of  human   nature ;    or  is  it  a  mere 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  87 

Utopian  theory,  a  morbid  sentimentalisra  ?  Have  the 
oro-anic  tendencies  of  the  race  changed,  or  have  we 
drifted  from  the  moorings  of  God  and  nature  out  upon 
the  shoreless  sea  of  experiment,  in  pursuit  of  the  ever- 
receding  phantom  of  human  perfectibility  ? 

Obediexce  is  the  law  of  God's  universe — the  inex- 
orable decree  of  his  providence.  And  evermore  in  the 
background  of  his  love  and  mercy  to  the  docile  and 
penitent  hangs  the  cloud  of  destruction  to  the  incorrigi- 
bly guilty.  Retribution  Avaits  upon  invitation.  Behind 
all  Jehovah's  dealings  with  angels,  men,  and  devils, 
there  lingers  an  immutable,  inexorable,  eternal  must. 
Obey  and  live,  refuse  and  perish,  is  the  epitome  of 
God's  natural  and  spiritual  economy.  It  rules  in  the 
moral  and  material  worlds ;  in  the  destinies  of  individ- 
uals, of  nations,  and  of  the  race. 

The  unsupported  ho(\.y  falls,  is  the  lesson  slowly  and 
gently  taught  in  the  nursery,  as  the  little  childs  steps 
falteringly  from  flither  to  mother,  from  chair  to  chair. 
Once  learned,  the  law  must  be  obeyed — death  lurks  at 
every  precipice.  Thus,  one  by  one,  kindly,  impercepti- 
bly almost,  God  teaches  us  his  physical  laws  ;  and  ever 
after,  by  sea  and  land,  through  all  the  realms  of  nature, 
the  inexorable  decree,  "  Obey  or  die  !"  attends  our  foot- 
steps. It  is  heard  in  the  howl  of  the  tempest ;  in  the 
thunders  of  Niagara ;  it  speaks  to  us  in  the  earthquake 
and  the  avalanche ;  its  fiery  letters  gleam  in  the  storm- 
cloud  ;  it  sounds  forth  from  the  caverns  and  smoke  of 
Vesuvius.     We  can  not  escape  from  this  omnipresent, 


88  CORPORAL  FUNISHMENT, 

eternal  miist  in  the  natural  world.  It  is  God's  tremen- 
dous barrier,  erected  everywhere,  to  turn  us  from  de- 
struction— erected  not  in  anger,  but  in  love.  It  is  inex. 
orable,  because  else  it  would  cease  to  be  effective. 
Some  must  perish  that  many  may  live.  We  must  obey 
the  laws  of  health.  The  penalty  of  taking  poison  is 
death,'  the  penalty  of  breathing  foul  air,  sooner  or 
later,  is  death  ;  the  penalty  of  intemperance  is  misery, 
decay,  and  death. 

The  same  unchangeable  decree  follows  us  in  the 
moral  world.  We  must  obey  the  moral  law  or  suffer^ 
physically  as  well  as  mentally.  Here,  too,  God  has  no 
scruples  about  enforcing  his  commands  by  the  ordeal 
of  pain.  He  does  not  stop  with  "  moral  suasion  "  merely. 
He  not  OYi\.j  pleads  with  divine  tenderness,  but  he  chas- 
tises with  divine  uncompromising  firmness  and  severity. 
Sin  and  suffering  are  indissoluble.  In  the  cup  of  every 
forbidden  pleasure  there  lurks  a  viper,  which  sooner  or 
later  will  sting  both  soul  and  body.  No  tortures  of  the 
body  can  compare  with  the  agonies  of  the  spirit ;  but, 
in  due  time,  for  every  infraction  of  the  moral  code,  the 
former  are  superadded  to  the  latter.  "  Thou  shalt  not 
kill!"  is  the  sententious  decree  which  ej^itomizes  the 
divine  regard  for  human  life.  Not,  "  It  is  not  best  to 
be  a  murderer ;  it  is  not  right ;  you  will  be  far  happier 
if  you  do  not ;  you  should  respect  the  rights  and  happi- 
ness of  others;  do  not,  I  beseech  you,  do  not  be  a  mur- 
derer ;"  but,  ringing  through  the  earth,  the  terse  man- 
date of  God  falls  loud  and  clear  upon  the  race,  Thou 


TEACHER  AXD  PUPIL.  89 

shalt  not  hill!  And  wlio  can  depict  the  terrors  that 
gather  about  and  haunt  the  guilty  wretch  who  violates 
the  prohibition,  goad  and  haunt  him  to  his  dying  hour, 
even  if  swift  destruction  does  not  overtake  him  at  the 
hands  of  the  law  ?  A  fugitive  and  a  vagabond,  pursued 
through  the  earth  by  the  sleepless  and  relentless  Neme- 
sis of  vengeance ;  scourged  by  the  scorpion  lash  of  con- 
science ;  pale  and  wasted  and  haggard,  he  drags  himself 
onward  to  a  premature  grave,  or  invokes  the  suicide's 
doom.  Thus  does  the  everlasting  must  confront  the 
transgressor  at  every  turn. 

And  as  it  is  with  individuals,  so  it  is  with  nations. 
The  track  of  centuries  is  strewn  with  the  memorials 
of  Jehovah's  tremendous  judgments  upon  states  and 
empires  that  would  not  obey  his  law.  "  The  wicked 
shall  be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  natioks  that  for- 
get God,"  is  the  record  which  six  thousand  years  have 
confirmed.  "The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly,"  but 
sooner  or  later  retribution,  resistless  and  aj)j)alling, 
closes  the  career  of  national  injustice  and  wrong.  So' it 
has  been  in  the  past,  so  it  is  now,  so  it  will  ever  be. 
Mercy,  forbearance,  entreaty,  persuasion,  are  tried  first ; 
the  light  of  reason,  the  warnings  of  experience,  the 
monitions  of  Providence,  are  given  to  avert  the  impend- 
ing blow.  Truth  and  virtue,  justice  and  freedom,  are 
inscribed  upon  the  banners  beneath  which  the  God  of 
history  would  lead  the  nations  to  the  millennial  day. 

But  when  these  great  lights  in  the  moral  firmament 
are  eclipsed;  when  the  immutable  principles   of  the 


90  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

diviue  law  and  government  are  trampled  in  the  dust ; 
when,  after  ages  or  centuries  of  wrong  and  oppression 
and  cruelty  and  profligacy,  the  cuj)  of  iniquity  is  at  last 
full,  then  "destruction  cometh  as  a  whirlwind,"  and  the 
nations,  pale  and  affrighted,  understand  how  the  loving 
God  can  also  be  "a  consuming  fire.''''  In  the  rear  of  his 
benignant  providence  ever  moves  the  avenging  must. 
Supplementary  to  the  blessed  years  of  probation,  if  re- 
jected and  defied,  come  the  red  years  of  pei'dition. 

Sodom  and  Gomorrah  were  not  purified,  in  the  end,  by 
moral  suasion,  but  \)j fire  and  brimstone.  Insolent  and 
incorrigible  rebels  against  the  theocracy,  in  the  days 
of  Joshua  and  his  successors,  were  not  conciliated,  but 
crushed  by  the  legions  of  Israel,  led  by  the  direct  com- 
mand of  the  Almighty.  When  the  haughty  Egyptian 
monarch  would  not  listen  to  the  "  moral  suasion  "  of 
Moses,  and  let  his  groaning  people  go,  God  plied  the  rod 
again  and  again  and  again,  terribly  and  more  terribly 
still,  till  the  wail  of  death  arose  from  every  house.  And 
when  at  last  the  despot  lied,  and  sought  again  to  put  his 
foot  upon  the  necks  of  His  chosen  ones,  the  whelming 
waters  of  the  Kcd  Sea  were  the  final  argument,  the  last 
Stroke  of  the  Master's  terrible  rod. 

The  lands  of  Cicero  and  Pericles,  with  all  their  wealth 
and  pomp  and  power  and  art  and  taste,  became  the  cen- 
tres of  false  philoso])hy,  injustice,  (banishing  "  Aristides 
tlie  Just"  simply  because  he  was  just,)  and  inhuman  op- 
pression, and  God's  avengers,  the  Goth  and  Ilun  and 
Persian,  spared  them  not.     Paris  became  the  Babylon 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  91 

of  moral  abominatious,  drunk  with  the  wine  of  atheism, 
mad  with  the  diabolism  of  hatred  to  God  and  his  truth ; 
and  through  blood  and  flame  and  agony  he  led  that  peo- 
ple back,  and  taught  them  hoAV  deej^  and  sure  is  the  per- 
dition of  the  nation  that  will  forget  God. 

No,  the  doctrine  of  force,  of  physical  j^unishment  in 
the  last  necessity,  can  not  be  excluded  without  violence  to 
the  truth  of  history,  the  facts  of  exjierience,  and  the  rev- 
elation of  God's  word.  It  was  ordained  with  the  mur- 
der of  Abel,  vindicated  in  the  tragedy  of  a  drow^iing 
world  at  the  deluge,  promulgated  in  terms  at  ^nai, 
attested  by  the  fiery  judgments  of  every  nation  and 
ejDoch,  and  is  to-day  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
teachers  of  every  land,  confirmed  by  the  ordeal  of  trial, 
and  demonstrated  in  the  desolating  storm  that  recently 
raged  over  the  land  of  Washington. 

Let  us  beware  how  we  exclude  this  doctrine  from  our 
theories  of  school  and  ^Darental  discipline,  lest  haply  we 
be  found  fighting  against  the  best  interests  of  our  chil- 
dren, against  the  weal  of  the  Republic,  against  the 
ordinance  of  God. 

Who  can  say  that,  among  the  germinal  concurrent 
causes  that  precipitated  the  great  rebellion,  the  wide- 
spread theory  that  moral  forces  alone  should  be  employed 
in  the  family,  the  school-room,  and,  by  logical  inference, 
in  the  government  itself,  did  not  play  an  important  part  ? 

Children  rebel ;  the  parents  persuade  :  the  rebellion 
continues ;  the  rod  is  not  invoked ;  punishment  would 


92  CORPORAL  FUmSHMENT, 

not  be  in  accordance  with  the  "  sj^irit  of  the  age !"  the 
chiklren  only  want  "  to  he  let  alone.'''' 

Pupils  rebel ;  the  teaclier  admonishes,  appeals  to  their 
sense  of  honor  and  right,  to  their  conscience  and  moral 
sense:  the  rebellion  continues;  the  rod  sleeps,  punish- 
ment is  withheld — the  enlightened  sentiment  of  the  asre 
must  not  be  outraged !  the  pupils  only  wish  "  to  he  let 
aloneP 

Eleven  States  rebel  and  defy  the  authoi-ity  of  the  gov- 
ernment. The  government  implores,  points  to  her  kind- 
ness and  protection  in  the  past,  pledges  a  continuance  in 
the  future;  the  rebellious  States  will  not  listen,  they  are 
defiant  still,  they  point  their  artillery  ujion  Sumter, 
they  threaten  war;  but  amid  their  jiarricidal  prej)ara- 
tions  they  deprecate  force.  "  Do  not  coerce  us ;  let  us 
alone,  we  only  want  to  be  let  alone."  But  the  theory 
of  "  moral  suasion  "  ended  here,  the  national  heart  soon 
set  itself  right  again,  the  heresy  was  lost  amid  the  clash 
of  arms,  millions  of  men  were  emj^loyed  to  inflict  corjio- 
ral  punishment  upon  the  rebellious,  God's  lesson  offeree 
was  believed  in  and  practiced  at  once,  and  amid  the 
thunder  of  battle  the  T)ubble  of  "  no  coercion "  burst, 
and  forever.  Is  there  not  a  connection  in  these  cases? 
Did  not  the  leaven  of  insubordination  begin  to  work  at 
the  fireside  and  in  the  school-room  ?  "VVas  not  the  de- 
mand of  the  men  of  the  South  to  be  let  alone,  the  legit- 
imate outgrowth  of  such  theories  and  such  teachings? 
Was  it  not  logical  ?  Did  it  not  give  rise,  in  part,  to  the 
ramby-pambyism  of  even  good  and  loyal  men  about  co- 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  93 

erciou  and  subjugation?  Could  the  stern  old  doctrines 
of  the  Bible  and  of  our  fathers  ever  lead  to  such  results  ? 
Is  it  cojiceivahle  that  men  deriving  their  notions  of  jus- 
tice and  punishment  from  such  sources  should  take  up 
arms  against  so  mild  and  good  a  government,  and  then 
ask  to  he  let  alone?  We  do  not  say  that  these  false 
ideas  of  parental  and  school  government  were  the  main- 
spring of  the  rebellion,  but  we  can  not  help  thinking  that 
they  cooperated  with  other  causes  to  hasten  the  crisis. 
Was  it  possible  for  the  South  to  suppose  the  North, 
where  so  much  had  been  said  and  written  in  behalf  of 
moral  suasion,  would  at  once  and  unitedly  adopt  the  j)ol- 
icy  of  coercion  ?  However  this  may  be,  it  is  clear  that 
such  theories  and  teachings  are  fundamentally  wrong 
and  dangerous,  and  must  issue  in  disaster  to  the  family, 
the  school,  and  the  state. 

We  yield  to  no  one  in  the  prominence  we  Avould  give 
to  distinctive  moral  forces.  We  go  with  the  moral  sua- 
Bionists  in  every  thing,  except  that,  when  they  fail,  we 
have  one  more  remedy  to  try  before  we  give  the  case  up 
as  hopeless.  We  do  not  say  that  some  schools  can 
not  be  properly  governed  without  resorting  to  corporal 
punishment.  All  we  claim  is,  that  the  right  should  be 
reserved  for  the  case  when  it  comes,  if  it  comes.  Pun- 
ishment is  the  just  and  righteous  penalty  of  incorrigible 
disobedience,  sanctioned  by  both  divine  and  human  au- 
thority, and  vital  in  all  governments,  parental,  school,  and 
civil.  Children  instinctively  assent  to  the  truth  of  those 
principles.    If  their  moral  training  has  been  at  all  what  it 


94  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

should  be,  they  expect  punishment  to  ^ViCCQQ^  persistence 
in  evil  doing,  as  a  itiatter  of  course,  and  their  sense  of 
right  is  disappointed,  shocked,  if  it  does  not  come.  It 
seems  to  us  that  no  sound  and  healthy  moral  nature, 
especially  if  the  Bible  and  experience  have  been  the 
guides,  can  withhold  its  approbation  from  such  a  doc- 
trine. 

Obedience  in  the  family  is  the  invariable  assurance  of 
obedience  in  the  school.  Obedience  in  the  school  makes 
loyal  and  obedient  citizens  of  the  state;  loyal,  i^atriotic, 
and  obedient  States  make  rebellion  and  treason  to  the 
government  impossible.  And  the  doctrine  of  the  right- 
eousness and  certainty  of  ultimate  severe  punishment  for 
crime  and  wickedness  is  the  coi'uer-stone  of  all  intelli- 
gent and  lasting  obedience.  Who  can  estimate  the 
value  of  such  sentiments  deej)ly  rooted  in  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  the  five  millions  of  school  children  in  the 
Northern  States  ?  How  sublune  is  the  evidence  of  the 
growth  and  power  of  such  sentiments,  im];)erfectly  in- 
culcated as  they  have  been ;  what  a  glorious  affirmance 
of  the  national  utiHty  of  free  schools !  Not  a  State  that 
participated  in  the  great  rebellion  ever  had  a  system  of 
free  schools  worthy  of  the  name  ;  and  there  was  scarcely 
a  loyal  one  that  had  not  long  pointed  with  pride  to  such 
a  system.  The  line  of  free  schools  divided  the  loyal  and 
rebel  States  almost  as  sharply  as  the  different  camps  of 
the  contending  armies.  No ;  neither  revelation,  history, 
experience,  nor  mental  or  moral  philosophy,  rightly  in- 
terrogated, can  be  made  to  support  the  theory  that  force 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  95 

sliould  never,  in  the  last  resort,  be  invoked  to  extort  obe- 
dience to  the  demands  of  just  and  rightful  authority. 
But  have  these  views  been  inculcated  in  our  public 
schools  Avith  the  earnestness  and  fidelity  which  their  im- 
portance demands  ?  Is  not  insubordination  bold  and 
rampant  among  our  youtli  ?  Has  it  not  been  increasing 
for  years  ?  Having  been  so  long  "  sowing  the  wind," 
have  we  not  begun  to  "  reap  the  whirlwind  "  ?  and  does 
not  the  harvest  give  promise  of  being  fruitful  and  ter- 
rific? 

It  is  in  our  common  schools  and  families  that  these 
ideas  of  obedience  must  first  be  implanted  in  the  mind 
and  heart.  We  must  there  seek  to  enthrone  in  the  soul 
just  conceptions  of  the  majesty  and  dignity  of  lain  y  to 
inculcate  a  cordial  recognition  of  the  divine  supremacy 
and  grandeur  of  rightful  authority.  Children  will  thus 
be  early  brought  to  admit  the  nobleness,  the  blessedness, 
of  hearty  and  joyous  submission  to  such  authority. 
They  will  learn  to  delight  in  a  full  surrender  of  con- 
scious ignorance  and  weakness  to  the  guidance  of  wis- 
dom and  strength.  They  will  see  in  a  cheerful  subor- 
dination to  just  and  duly  constituted  authority  the 
highest  glory  and  dignity  of  man.  They  will  come  to 
repudiate  the  foolish  dogma,  so  common  among  the 
children  of  this  generation,  that  submission  is  necessa- 
rily degradation;  and  assent  to  the  truth  that,  when 
yielded  to  rightful  authority,  wielded  by  those  lawfully 
invested  therewith,  submission  is  an  honor,  not  a  degra- 
dation.     Tims    the    habit   of    reverent    allee;iance    is 


96  CORPORAL  PUNISHMENT, 

wrought  in  tlie  depths  of  the  soul,  and  the  duty  of  obe- 
dience to  legitimate,  beneficent  human  laws  is  associ- 
ated, from  early  life,  with  that  profound  regard  which  is 
due  from  all  finite  intelligences  to  the  Supreme  Governor 
of  the  universe. 

Once  invested  with  these  lofty  attributes,  the  govern- 
ing 2)0 wer  sways  its  sceptre  over  willing  minds  and  loyal 
hearts,  whether  in  the  family,  the  school,  or  the  state. 
It  is  regarded  not  as  the  grim  despot  of  iron  visage  and 
flinty  heart,  but  as  a  friend,  robed  with  paternal  benig- 
nity and  of  genial  aspect ;  the  calm  but  inflexible  dispen- 
ser of  justice  and  mercy ;  "  the  terror  of  evil-doers," 
indeed,  but  also  "  the  jDraise  of  those  that  do  well."  Nor 
is  this  elevated  conception  of  the  nature  and  duty  of 
obedience  an  impracticable  abstraction.  Its  essential 
idea  may  be  imparted  to  and  understood  by  very  young 
children.  Not,  indeed,  in  the  form  of  logical  proposi- 
tions, nor  by  any  labored  effort  of  didactics,  but  by  the 
more  plain  and  potent  teaching  of  example  and  experi- 
ence of  its  beneficent  results  in  the  family  and  school, 
seconded  by  the  instincts  and  intuitions  of  the  moral 
nature.  Right  principles  may  be  born  in  the  heart,  ap- 
proved by  the  conscience,  and  exercised  in  the  life  long 
before  they  are  or  can  be  compressed  to  the  standard,  or 
cut  to  the  sharp  dimensions,  of  logical  formulas  and 
maxims. 

How  inexpressibly  hopeful  and  promising  the  manhood 
and  citizenship  of  those  who,  in  early  life,  are  thus  led  to 
see  and  feel  the  nobleness  and  magnanimity  of  obedience 


TEACHER  AND  PUPIL.  97 

to  just  authority;  by  which  the  reasonableness  and 
necessity  of  submission  to  salutary  restraints  is  cordially 
admitted;  whose  judgment  and  conscience  respond  to 
every  appeal  of  truth  and  duty ;  whose  feelings  and  sen- 
timents are  finn  and  decided  in  favor  of  law  and  order, 
and  uncompromising  in  their  indignant  rebuke  of  all 
that  is  low  and  base  and  rebellious.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  the  blessings  of  that  obedience  which  is  essen- 
tial to  the  welfare  of  the  school  do  not  cease  when  its 
immediate  ends  have  been  subserved.  There  are  other 
and  higher  considerations  which  look  beyond  the  horizon 
of  the  school-room  to  distant  years,  when  the  boy, 
clothed  with  the  attributes  and  responsibilities  of  man- 
hood, shall  take  his  place  as  a  member  of  the  civil  com- 
munity. And  thrice  happy  the  state  whose  sons  shall 
leave  the  school-room  with  a  profound  regard  for  the 
majesty  of  just  and  righteous  law ;  with  true  ideas  of 
the  relations  of  the  governed  to  the  governing  power ; 
with  a  lofty  sense  of  their  obligations  as  citizens ;  with 
warm  and  filial  love  for  the  institutions  of  their  country, 
and  a  steadfast  purpose  ever  to  maintain  and  defend 
them.  (]\Iade  uj)  from  Hon.  N.  Bateman's  Fourth  Bien- 
nial Report,  pp.  107-117.) 


CHAPTER    VI 

PUNISHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT  OUT  OF  SCHOOL. 

Sec.  1.  When  the  late  Hon.  Jolin  C.  Spencer,  a 
gentleman  of  such  eminent  legal  ability  that  he  had 
scarcely  a  peer  at  the  New-York  bar,  was  Superintend- 
ent of  Schools  for  the  State  of  New- York,  he  is  said  to 
have  given  the  following  opinion :  The  authority  of  the 
teacher  to  punish  his  scholars  extends  to  acts  done  in 
the  school-room  or  play-gi'ound  only ;  and  he  has  no 
legal  right  to  punish  for  improper  or  disorderly  conduct 
,  elsewhere.  (RandalPs  Com.  School  Sys.  p.  262.)  But 
the  oj)inion  of  any  one  man,  whatever  may  be  his  posi- 
tion and  learning,  can  not  stand  against  the  decision  of 
the  courts.  We  have  preferred,  therefore,  to  go  back 
of  this  opinion,  and  look  at  the  law  for  ourselves.  Al- 
though we  must  confess  that  in  the  outset  we  expected 
to  find  authorities  to  support  the  opinion  rather  than  to 
controvert  it,  now,  however,  after  long  and  laborious 
reseai'ch,  we  believe  that  our  preconceived  notions  were 
erroneous;  for  although  the  courts  have  rarely  been 
called  upon  to  consider  this  subject,  it  has,  nevertheless, 
been  before  them,  and  the  law  upon  it  has  been  fully 
and  clearly  explained. 


PUmSHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT.  99 

Sec,  2.  A  inusic-master  vi  trouble. — This  was  an  ac- 
tion for  an  assault,  in  which  the  defendant,  as  music- 
master  of  the  Chichester  Cathedral,  pleaded  a  justifica- 
tion of  the  trespass,  as  committed  by  him,  in  correcting 
the  j)laintiff,  who  was  a  chorister  of  the  cathedral,  and 
had  absented  himself  from  his  dtity.  TJie  cause  was 
tried  at  the  Assizes  at  Sussex,  when  a  verdict  was  found 
for  the  plaintiff  for  the  sum  of  £5,  it  being  held  that  tho 
justification  Avas  not  sustainable.  It  appeared  that  the 
plaintiff  had  applied  to  the  master  for  leave  to  go  and 
sing  at  a  certain  club,  but  jjermission  Avas  refused. 
Notwithstanding  this  refusal  the  jDlaintiff  Avent  to  the 
club,  and  on  the  next  day  the  defendant,  as  music-mas-  • 
ter  of  the  cathedral,  and  consequently  having  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  choristers,  corrected  the  plaintiff,  and  com- 
mitted the  assault  complained  of  At  the  trial  evi- 
dence was  offered  of  the  practice  at  other  cathedrals, 
but  was  rejected.  Evidence  Avas  also  proposed  to  be 
brought  forward  in  order  to  show  that  the  chorister's 
practicing  at  the  clubs  disqualified  him  for  singipg 
in  the  cathedral.  The  judge  at  the  trial  thought  the 
evidence  too  general,  and  rejected  it.  The  defendant 
now  moA'ed,  on  the  ground  of  misdirection,  to  set  aside 
the  verdict,  and  have  a  new  trial.  Mr.  Justice  Bayley 
observed,  thereupon,  that  "  the  boy  was  under  an 
obligation  to  attend  in  the  church  at  certain  periods, 
in  order  to  receive  instruction,  but  that  the  master 
had  no  occasion  for  his  services  at  the  time  Avhen 
his  absence  was   complained    of."     And   Chief-Justioe 


100  PUNISlUfENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

Abbott  said,  that,  "  supposing  the  boy  had  bathed  and 
caught  cokl,  that  would  be  injurious  to  his  singing,  but 
would  not  justify  the  measures  adoj)ted  by  the  defend- 
ant." A  new  trial  was  therefore  refused.  (Newman 
V.  Bennett,  2.  Chitt.  195.)  This  decision,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, does  not  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  music-mas- 
ter could  under  no  circumstances  punish  his  i^upils  for 
misconduct  out  of  school  hours;  but  it  would  seem  that 
the  alleged  cause  of  the  punishment  was  the  absence  of 
the  jiupil  from  duty;  and  one  of  the  judges  merely  de- 
cides that  "  at  that  time  the  master  had  no  occasion  for 
the  services  "  of  the  pupil,  and  consequently  the  defense 
failed.  And  the  chief-justice  merely  added  to  this,  that, 
even  if  the  boy  did  injure  his  voice  singing  at  the  clubs, 
he  did  not  thereby  commit  such  an  oiFense  as  would 
justify  the  master  in  correcting  him  corporally.  The 
court,  therefore,  seem  to  have  been  unwilling  to  declare 
that  the  master  could  under  no  circumstances  punish  his 
pupil  for  misconduct  out  of  the  hours  set  apart  for  in- 
struction, but  confined  themselves  rather  to  this  particu- 
lar instance,  and,  without  declaring  any  general  princi- 
ple, decided  that  the  offense  was  not  sufficient  to  justify 
the  act  of  the  teacher.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  also, 
that  this  is  a  decision  iu  reference  to  the  authority  of  a 
music-teacher  only,  and  that  the  jurisdiction  of  other 
teachers  is  altogether  more  extended.  Consequently, 
even  if  the  court  had  decided  that  the  jurisdiction  of 
music-masters  could  not  iu  any  instance  extend  to  acts 
done  outside  of  the  school,  such  a  decision  would  in  no 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  101 

respect  define  or  limit  the  authority  of  other  teachers. 
Music-teachers,  we  believe,  do  not,  as  a  general  thing, 
claim  or  care  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  conduct  of 
their  pupils,  except  during  the  particular  hours  that 
have  been  set  apart  for  their  instruction.  The  music- 
teacher's  duty  is  merely  to  develop  the  musical  facul- 
.  ties,  and  he  has  no  more  power  given  him  by  law  than 
is  necessary  for  the  accomi^lishment  of  that  end.  The 
duty  of  other  teachers  is  not  so  circumscribed.  They 
are  employed  for  vastly  greater  purposes.  They  must 
teach  the  science  of  health  with  all  the  learning,  but 
without  the  pay,  of  the  doctor ;  they  must  inculcate  the 
piinciples  of  morality  with  all  the  impressive  sincerity, 
but  without  the  sectarianism,  of  the  minister ;  they  must 
be  altogether  more  patient  and  discreet  than  parents, 
and  more  even-tempered  than  God  Almighty  himself — 
for  he  was  "  wroth "  when  he  punished  the  wicked, 
whereas,  if  a  teacher  punishes  in  anger,  he  is  guilty  of 
an  assault  and  battery ;  they  must  invent  schemes  to  in- 
vert hiimau  nature,  and  make  every  good  thing  and 
thought  enticing,  and  every  bad  thing  and  thought 
abominably  disgusting,  esjiecially  to  the  "  desperately 
wicked,"  Avho  have  "  no  good  in  them ;"  they  must  ten- 
derly moderate  the  zeal  of  the  too  ambitious,  and  in- 
spire the  dullest  blockhead  with  a  manly  thirst  for  fame 
and  knowledge;  and  the  incorrigibly  uncouth  and 
vicious  they  must  endow  with  the  tastes,  mstincts,  and 
manners  of  the  refined  and  virtuous.  And,  in  short, 
they  must  turn  all  from  the  thousand  paths  that  lead  to 


102  PUNISHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

indolence,  ignorance,  and  folly,  and  prepare  tliem  to 
■find  infallibly  all  the  ways  of  pleasantness  and  all  the 
paths  of  j)eace.  These  are  the  high  pnrposes  for  which 
teachers  are  employed ;  and  it  would  be  a  shame  and  a 
reproach  to  require  so  much  of  them,  and  at  the  same 
time  tie  their  hands  by  withholding  from  them  the 
power  which  is  indispensable  to  their  success.  The  la^^ 
is  not  so  imreasonable ;  for  with  every  well-defined 
duty  the  law  gives  an  incontestable  right  to  all  the 
power  necessary  for  the  performance  of  that  duty. 

Sec.  3.  A  RemarlcabU  Case. — In  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  of  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  a  teacher 
was  tried,  about  six  years  ago,  for  assault  and  bat- 
tery, and  found  guilty  under  the  following  circum- 
stances :  The  evidence  showed  that  the  alleged  as- 
sault and  battery  was  inflicted  by  the  defendant  in  the 
capacity  of  a  school-master,  on  the  prosecutor,  a  boy 
of  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age,  as  a  pupil  at- 
tending his  school,  by  way  of  correction,  for  a  viola- 
tion of  the  rules  of  the  school  by  the  prosecutor.  It 
also  appeared  that  the  correction  was  administered 
by  the  defendant  on  the  prosecutor  after  the  ad- 
journment of  the  school  in  the  evening,  and  while 
the  latter  was  on  his  way  home,  for  an  act  committed 
during  that  time,  and  which  was  seen  by  the  defend- 
ant, who  thereupon  administered  the  collection  by 
the  infliction  of  sundry  stripes  with  an  ordinary-sized 
rod.  There  was  nothing  conducing  to  show  that  the 
correction  was  other  than  reasonable   and   moderate. 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  103 

The  court  instructed  the  jui'y  that,  although  the  de- 
fendant,   as   a  teacher,  was   by  law  vested  with    the 
delegated  authority  to  exercise  control  over  the  prose- 
cutor as  his  pupil  during  school  hours,  yet  after  the  ad- 
journment of  his  school,  and  after  the  prosecutor  had 
left  and  was  on  his  way  home,  his  authority  over  him 
had  terminated,  and  his  act  of  administering  correction 
under  the  circumstances  was  unauthorized  by  law,  and 
they  must  find  accordingly ;  but  in  fixing  the  defendant's 
punishment,  they  should  take  into  view  all  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  case,  and  especially  the  motives 
of  the  defendant  in  committing  the  act,  and  if  they 
should    find    the    circumstances    to    warrant    it,   they 
might  fix  the   fine   as   low   as   one   cent,  and  without 
costs.      Under   these   instructions   the  jury  were   con- 
strained to  find  the  defendant  "  guilty ;"  but  they  fixed 
the  fine  at  "  one  cent,  and  without  costs,"  as  had  been 
suggested   by  the   court.     (State   of  Indiana   v.   Av'nA 
Flinn,  in  Bedford  Independent.)     Here,  then,  we  find 
both  court  and  jury  evidently  feeling  themselves  ham- 
pered by  what  they  suppose  to  be  the  law,  but  virtually 
justifying  the  act  of  the  teacher,  which  no  doubt  was 
right  and  proper.     This  case  has  often  been  cited  as  a 
strong  one  against  the  teacher's  right  to  punish  for  mis- 
behavior on  the  way  to  and  from  school,  but  we  can 
not  so  regard  it.     We  think  it  an  excellent  illustration 
rather  of  what  courts  and  juries  will  do  to  shield  the 
prudent    and   conscientious   teacher  from   harm.     The 
only  indiscreet  thing  the  teacher  in  this  case  seems  to 


104  PUNISHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

have  done  was  to  inflict  the  punishment  out  of  school. 
We  think  it  would  have  been  more  prudent  to  wait 
until  the  next  day,  and  inflict  the  punishment  in  the 
school.  It  is  always  better  to  take  time  for  reflection 
before  an  act,  the  propriety  of  which  is  likely  to  be  at 
all  questioned.  Besides,  the  teacher's  jurisdiction  in  the 
school-room  would  be  less  likely  to  be  disputed,  and,  if 
it  were,  he  could  find  more  and  better  authorities  to 
support  him.  In  fact,  the  authority  of  the  teacher  to 
punish  for  the  offense  may  in  some  measure  depend 
upon  whether  the  scholar  continues  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  master.  For,  if  the  scholar,  after  leaving 
the  school  in  the  evening,  committed  an  offense  as  in 
this  case,  but  never  again  returned  to  the  school,  we 
think  that  the  teacher's  right  to  inflict  punishment 
under  such  circumstances  would  be  more  than  doubtful. 
Consequently,  we  would  advise  the  punishment  to  be 
deferred  in  all  cases  until  it  can  be  inflicted  in  the 
school-room. 

Sec.  4.  In  Rhode  Island  the  teacher  should  endeavor 
to  exercise  an  inspection  over  the  conduct  of  his  scholars 
at  all  times.  But  the  power  to  punish  for  offenses  com- 
mitted out  of  school  is  considered  doubtful.  In  a  case 
where  a  boy  had  committed  a  theft  out  of  school  the 
teacher  called  him  to  account  for  it,  and  punished  him 
for  refusing  to  answer.  The  court  ruled  that  the  teacher 
had  no  right  to  punish  him  for  refusing  to  confess  a 
crime  for  tohich  he  inight  he  punished  at  laio.  In  con- 
nection with  this  decision  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  105 

the  laTT  does  not  require  criminals  to  confess  their  guilt. 
Consequently  any  punishment  for  such  a  refusal,  whether . 
the  crime  is  committed  in  school  or  out  of  school,  would 
pi'obably  meet  with  no  favor  in  the  courts.  The  law 
permits  criminals  to  confess  their  crimes,  but  it  will  not 
force  them  to  do  so.  The  decision  in  this  case,  then, 
does  not  place  the  Rhode  Island  court  against  the  policy 
of  punishing  for  misconduct  out  of  school.  (See  Pub. 
School  Acts  of  E.  I.  1857,  with  Rem.  p.  53.)  The  fol- 
lowing  upon  this  subject  is  from  an  excellent  French 
treatise  upon  education,  by  J.  "Willm,  Inspector  of  the 
Academy  at  Strasbourg,  p.  176  :  "  The  last  question  which 
presents  itself  is,  how  for  teachers  should  pay  attention 
to  the  conduct  of  the  pupils  out  of  school,  and  especially 
at  the  tune  when  they  resort  to  it  or  return  home.  The 
road  leading  to  school  is  truly  a  part  of  it,  if  we  may  so 
speak,  as  well  as  the  play-ground.  Consequently  any 
disorders  committed  by  the  pupils  on  it  ought  to  be  sup- 
pressed by  the  teacher.  He  ought  especially  to  watch 
over  them  at  their  play,  for  the  sake  of  discipline,  as  well 
as  for  that  of  education  in  general.  Their  games  are,  as 
has  been  said,  of  serious  importance  to  him.  The  con- 
duct of  the  pupils,  when  under  the  paternal  roof,  and 
everywhere  but  in  the  school  or  the  road  leading  to  it, 
escapes  all  the  means  of  discipline ;  but  the  teacher  ought 
not  to  be  indiiferent  to  that  conduct,  especially  in  the  coun- 
try ;  he  should  cai*efully  inquire  concerning  it,  for  the 
sake  of  moral  education.  For  the  same  reason,  he  will 
have  to  watch  over  his  own  conduct  out  of  school,  and 


106  PUNISHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

avoid  whatever  might  tend  to  diminish  the  respect  hia 
.  pupils  owe  to  him,  and  A'hich  is  tlie  chief  condition  of 
the  success  of  his  mission." 

Sec  5.  Massachusetts. — "  The  question  is  not  without 
some  practical  difficulty,  how  far  the  school  committee 
and  teachers  may  exercise  authority  over  school  children 
before  the  hour  when  the  school  begins  or  after  the  hour 
when  it  closes,  or  outside  of  the  school-house  door  or 
yard.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  certainly  some  limit  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  committee  and  teachers  out  of 
school  hours  and  out  of  the  school-house;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  equally  plain,  if  their  jurisdiction  does 
not  commence  until  the  minute  for  opening  the  school 
has  arrived,  nor  until  the  piipil  has  passed  Avithiu  the 
door  of  the  school-room,  that  all  the  authority  left  to 
them  in  regard  to  some  of  the  most  sacred  objects  for 
which  our  schools  were  instituted  would  be  but  of  little 
avail.  To  what  purpose  would  the  teacher  prohibit  pro- 
fane or  obscene  language  among  his  scholars,  within  the 
school-room  and  during  school  hours,  if  they  could  in- 
dulge it  "odth  impunity  and  to  any  extent  of  wantonness 
as  soon  as  the  hour  for  dismissing  the  school  shoTild 
arrive  ?  To  what  purpose  would  he  forbid  quarreling 
and  fighting  among  the  'scholars  at  recess,  if  they  could 
engage  in  single  combat,  or  marshal  themselves  into 
hostile  parties  for  a  general  encounter  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  school-house,  within  the  next  five  minutes 
after  the  school-house  should  be  closed?  And  to  what 
purpose  would  he  repress  insolence  to  himself,  if  a  scliolar, 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  107 

as  soon  as  he  had  passed  the  threshold,  might  shake  his 
fist  in  his  teacher's  face  and  challenge  him  to  personal 
combat  ?  These  considerations  ^'onld  seem  to  show  that 
there  must  be  a  j^ortion  of  time,  both  before  the  school 
commences  and  after  it  has  closed,  and  also  a  portion  of 
space  between  the  door  of  the  school-house  and  that  of 
the  paternal  mansion,  where  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
parent  on  one  side,  and  of  the  committee  and  the 
teachers  on  the  other,  is  concurrent. 

"  Many  of  the  school  committees  in  this  commonwealth 
have  acted  in  accordance  with  these  views,  and  have 
framed  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  scholars, 
both  before  and  after  school  hours,  and  while  going  to 
and  returning  fi-om  the  school.  The  same  principle  of 
necessity,  by  virtue  of  which  this  jurisdiction  out  of 
school  hours  and  beyond  school  premises  is  claimed,  de- 
fines its  extent  and  affixes  its  limit.  It  is  claimed  because 
the  great  objects  of  discipline  and  of  moral  culture  would 
be  frustrated  without  it.  When  not  essential,  therefore, 
to  the  attainment  of  these  objects,  it  should  be  forborne." 
(10  Report  of  Hon.  Horace  Mann.) 

Sec.  6.  Ohio. — The  legal  right  of  the  teacher  to  pun- 
ish his  scholars  for  disorderly  acts  done  in  the  school- 
room, or  on  the  play-ground,  befoi'e  the  oj^ening  of  the 
school,  after  its  close,  during  morning  or  afternoon  recess, 
or  at  noon,  has  been  fully  recognized  by  the  courts  of 
this  country.  But  whether  his  authority  to  punish  his 
scholars  extends  to  immoral  or  disorderly  conduct  else- 
where, is  not  so  fully  established.     By  some  it  is  con- 


108  PUmSHMEXT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

tended  that  the  legal  right  of  a  teacher  to  inflict  cor- 
poral punishment  xipon  a  scholar  in  any  case  is  derived 
from  the  fact  that  he  stands  in  loco  parentis^  and  that, 
therefore,  it  can  not  be  extended  to  acts  done  before  this 
relation  has  commenced,  or  after  it  has  terminated,  with- 
out the  express  consent  of  the  parent.  It  is  further  con- 
tended that  this  delegation  to  the  teacher  of  the  power 
allowed  by  law  to  the  parent  over  the  person  of  his  child 
does  not  take  place  till  the  child  has  reached  the  school 
premises,  and  must  end  when  he  leaves  for  home.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  maintained  by  others,  that  the  right  of 
a  teacher  to  hold  his  scholars  responsible  for  improj)er 
conduct  on  their  way  to  and  from  school  is  fully  sanc- 
tioned by  usage.  Under  all  the  cu'cumstances,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  most  prudent  course  for  a  teacher  to  take 
in  a  case  like  the  one  presented  would  be  to  notify  the 
parent  of  the  misconduct  complained  of,  and  if  his  per- 
mission to  punish  the  oifending  scholar  can  not  be  ob- 
tained, and  the  disorderly  behavior  be  repeated,  then  to 
refer  the  matter  to  the  board  of  education.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  boards  of  education  possess  the  legal 
power  to  make  and  enforce  such  rules  and  regulations  as, 
in  their  judgment,  may  be  necessary  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  schools  within  their  jurisdiction ;  and  it  is  their 
duty  as  well  as  their  right  to  co5perate  mth  the  teacher 
in  the  government  of  the  school,  and  to  aid  him  to  the 
extent  of  their  power  and  influence  in  the  enforcement 
of  reasonable  and  proper  rules  and  regulations,  and  to 
dismiss  a  scholar  from  the  school  whenever  he  uses  at 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  109 

school,  or  on  liis  -vray  to  or  from  the  same,  such  rude, 
ATilgar,  or  profane  language,  and  exhibits  such  a  degree 
of  moral  depravity  generally,  as  to  render  his  association 
with  other  scholars  dangerous  to  the  latter,  or  whenever 
he  manifests  such  violent  insubordination  as  to  render 
the  maintenance  of  discipline  and  order  in  the  school  im- 
practicable or  extremely  difficult.  It  is  also  the  duty  as 
well  as  the  legal  light  of  the  local  directors  to  see  that 
the  general  character,  usefulness,  and  prosperity  of  the 
school  are  not  impau'ed  by  allowing  those  to  remain  in 
it  whose  whole  influence,  conduct,  and  bad  character 
have  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  j^rivi- 
leges.  (H.  H.  Barney,  Commissioner  of  Com.  Schools, 
1855.) 

We  would  remark  here  that  the  teacher,  in  legal  effect, 
does  stand  in  loco  2X(re7itis;  but  he  is  clothed  with  his 
authority  by  law  and  not  by  any  particular  parent  or 
parents.  Tliis  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  teacher 
has  precisely  the  same  authority  over  his  scholar,  whether 
the  parents  be  living  or  not.  The  child,  by  entering  the 
school,  is  at  once  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  teacher, 
and  the  only  difficulty  the  law  has  upon  the  point  is  to 
determine  definitely  just  where  that  jurisdiction  ought 
in  justice  to  all  parties  to  terminate.  There  is  no  neces- 
sity for  any  delegated  authority  from  the  parent;  the 
law  implies  that,  and  even  grants  it,  whether  the  parent 
consents  or  not.  The  only  way  for  the  parent  to  limit 
the  legal  jurisdiction  of  the  teacher  is  to  take  his  child 
out  of  school.     The  board  of  education,  however,  being 


110  PUNISH3IEXT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

clothed  with  sufficient  power  by  law,  may  define  the 
jui'isdiction  of  the  teacher,  and,  unless  they  transcend 
their  power,  he  must  submit  to  their  ruling.  There  is 
no  privity  of  contract  between  the  parents  of  pupils  to 
be  sent  to  school  iind  the  school-master.  The  latter  is 
employed  and  paid  by  the  town,  and  to  them  only  is  he 
responsible  on  his  contract.  (23  Peck.  224;  14  Barb. 
225;  38  Maine,  376.) 

Sec.  7.  The  Universal  Custom  in  New-England 
Schools. — The  following  opinion  will  hardly  be  ques- 
tioned by  any  good  lawyer,  as  it  is  well  known  in  the 
profession  that  the  court  which  delivered  it  is  one  of  the 
ablest  in  the  Union.  It  appeared  from  the  evidence  in 
the  case  that  about  an  hour  and  a  half  after  the  scholar 
reached  home  in  the  evening,  he  used  insulting  language 
to  the  teacher  in  the  presence  and  hearing  of  other  mem- 
bers of  the  school.  The  teacher  punished  the  ofiender 
the  next  day  in  school.  Able  counsel  were  engaged  on 
both  sides,  and  as  the  first  decision  was  not  satisfactory, 
the  case  was  aj^pealed  and  argued  -with  great  ability 
before  the  Supreme  Court.  The  judges  all  agreed  upon 
the  following  opinion:  There  seems  to  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  that  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  master  over 
the  scholar  extends  from  the  time  he  leaves  home  to  go 
to  school  till  he  returns  home  from  school.  Most  parents 
would  exj^ect  and  desire  that  teachers  should  take  care 
that  their  children,  in  going  to  and  returning  from  school, 
should  not  loiter,  or  seek  evil  company,  or  frequent  vicious 
places  of  resort.     Even  after  the  pupil  has  reached  home, 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  HI 

and  has  been  there  some  time,  if  he  should  commit  an 
act  of  misbehavior  Avhieh  would  have  a  dii'ect  and  im- 
mediate tendency  to  injure  the  school  and  to  subvert  the 
mastei''s  authority,  he  may  be  punished  for  it  in  school 
the  next  day.  The  misbehavior  must  not  have  merely  a 
remote  and  indii'ect  tendency  to  injure  the  school.  All 
improper  conduct  or  language  may  perhaps  have,  by  in- 
fluence and  example,  a  remote  tendency  of  that  kind. 
But  the  tendency  of  the  acts  so  done  out  of  the  teacher's 
supervision,  for  -which  he  may  punish,  must  be  direct  and 
immediate  in  their  bearing  upon  the  welfare  of  the  school, 
or  the  authority  of  the  master  and  the  respect  due  him. 
Cases  may  readily  be  supposed  which  lie  very  near  the 
line,  and  it  will  often  be  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
the  acts  which  have  such  an  immediate  and  those  which 
have  such  a  remote  tendency.  Hence  each  case  must  be 
determined  by  its  peculiar  circumstances.  Acts  done  to 
deface  or  injm-e  the  school-room,  to  destroy  the  books  of 
scholars,  or  the  books  or  apparatus  for  instruction,  or  the 
instruments  of  punishment  of  the  master ;  language  used 
to  other  scholars  to  stir  up  disorder  and  insubordination, 
or  heap  odium  or  disgrace  upon  the  master ;  writings  and 
pictures  placed  so  as  to  suggest  evil  and  corrupt  lan- 
guage, images,  and  thoughts  to  the  youth  who  must  fre- 
quent the  school ;  all  such  or  similar  acts  tend  dii-ectly  to 
impair  the  usefulness  of  the  school,  the  welfare  of  the 
scholars,  and  the  authority  of  the  master.  By  common 
consent,  and  by  the  universal  custom  in  our  ISTew-Eng- 
land  schools,  the  master  has  always  been  deemed  to  have 


112  PUNISHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

the  right  to  punish  such  offenses,  (even  though,  as  in  the 
present  case,  they  are  committed  out  of  school  hom-s.) 
Such  power  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of  order,  de- 
cency, decorum,  and  good  government  in  schools.  (Lan- 
der V.  Seaver,  32  Vennont  R  120.)  We  cite  the  fore- 
going authority  with  the  utmost  confidence,  and  believe 
it  to  be  entirely  correct.  But  even  though  the  teacher's 
right  to  punish  for  misbehavior  on  the  way  to  and  from 
school  is  fully  established  in  point  of  law,  yet,  on  account 
of  the  opposition  which  it  meets  with  in  some  localities, 
we  think  that  it  should  be  exercised  only  when  it  appears 
to  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  welfare  of  the  school ; 
nor  then,  except  upon  the  most  mature  reflection  and 
with  the  utmost  discretion.  A  teacher  may  refuse  en- 
tirely to  exercise  this  right ;  and  he  will  probably  fare 
better,  even  in  the  courts,  than  if  he  had  adopted  the 
other  course  and  laid  himself  liable  by  exercising  tlie 
right  unnecessarily  or  indiscreetly.  The  intelligent  and 
conscientious  teacher,  however,  who  sees  the  necessity 
and  acts  from  good  motives  and  with  discretion,  need 
not  be  deterred  from  doing  his  duty,  even  to  the  extent  of 
exercising  all  his  rights^this  j^articular  one  not  excejDted 
— and  he  need  not  fear  the  consequences.  For  as  he  will 
have  done  but  his  duty,  the  courts  of  justice  will  protect 
him  from  harm — the  most  able  by  fully  jvistifying  his 
acts,  and  the  less  enlightened  by  fining  him  "  one  cent, 
and   without  costs." 

Sec.  8.  Pupils  shall  be  considered  under  the  govern- 
ment of  their  teacliers  while   going  to   and  returning 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  113 

from,  as  Avell  as  when  in,  the  school-room.  (By-LaAvs  of 
Md.  Comrs.  18G5,  p.  20.)  The  jurisdiction  and  author- 
ity of  the  teacher  over  the  pupil  is  neither  limited  by 
the  school-house  walls  nor  to  the  time  the  school  is 
actually  in  session.  As  a  general  rule,  in  all  matters 
legitimately  connected  with  the  schools  and  the  man- 
ners and  morals  of  the  scholars,  the  teacher's  jurisdic- 
tion commences  when  pupils  leave  the  parental  roof  and 
control  to  go  to  school,  and  continues  until  their  return 
from  scliool.  Tlie  teacher,  however,  is  not  responsible 
for  the  misconduct  of  pupils  on  the  way  to  and  from 
school,  though  he  has  the  rifjht  to  punish  for  such  mis- 
conduct when  brought  to  his  knowledge.  (Pa.  School 
Laws  and  Dec.  1866,  p.  74.) 

It  Avas  the  intention  of  the  Legislatui*e  to  make  the 
public  schools  a  system  of  moral  training  as  well  as 
seminaries  of  learning;  and  it  is  as  necessary  in  the 
unreserved  intercourse  of  pupils  of  the  same  school,  as 
well  without  as  within  its  precincts,  to  preserve  the 
pure-minded,  ingenuous,  and  unsuspecting  children  of 
both  sexes  from  the  contaminating  influence  of  those 
of  depraved  sentiments  and  vicious  propensities  and 
habits,  as  from  those  infected  with  contagious  diseases. 
Consequently,  when  a  teacher  expelled  a  scholar  for  her 
immoral  practices  while  at  home  evenings,  his  action 
was  sustained  by  the  committee,  and  afterward  by  the 
court,  although  no  fault  whatever  had  been  found  with 
the  girl's  conduct  in  school.  (Sherman  v.  The  Inhab- 
itants of  Charlestown,  8  Cush.  R.  164.) 


114  PUNISHMENT  FOR  MISCONDUCT 

Sec.  9.  The  following  positions,  as  general  rules,  in 
reference  to  the  control  which  a  teacher  may  legally 
exercise  over  his  pnpils  in  resj)ect  to  time  and  place, 
are,  we  believe,  fully  sustained  in  law : 

1.  In  the  school-room  the  teacher  has  the  exclusive 
control  and  supervision  of  his  pupils,  subject  only  to 
such  regulations  and  directions  as  may  be  prescribed  or 
given  by  the  school  committee. 

2.  The  conduct  of  the  pupils  on  any  part  of  the 
premises  connected  with  the  school-house,  or  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  same,  (the  pupils  being  thus  vir- 
tually under  the  care  and  oversight  of  the  teacher,) 
whether  wdthin  the  regular  school  hours  or  before  or 
after  them,  is  properly  cognizable  by  the  teacher.  And 
any  disturbances  made  by  them,  or  ofifenses  committed 
by  them,  within  this  range,  injuriously  affecting  iu  any 
way  the  interests  of  the  school,  may  clearly  be  the  sub- 
ject of  re^jroof  and  correction  by  the  teacher. 

3.  In  regard  to  what  transpires  by  the  way  in  going 
to  or  returning  from  school,  the  authority  of  the  teacher 
may  be  regarded  as  concurrent  with  that  of  the  parent. 
So  far  as  offenses  are  concerned  for  which  the  pupils 
committing  them  would  be  amenable  to  the  laws,  such 
as  larcenies,  trespasses,  etc,  which  come  more  particu- 
larly Avithin  the  category  of  crimes  against  the  State, 
it  is  the  wisest  course  generally  for  the  teacher  (Avhat- 
ever  may  be  his  legal  power)  to  let  the  offenders  pass 
into  the  hands  of  judicial  or  parental  authority  for  dis- 
cipline and  punishment.     And  it  is  never  worth  while 


OUT  OF  SCHOOL.  115 

for  teachers  to  exercise  any  doubtful  authority,  as  they 
may  thereby  involve  themselves  in  controversies  Avith 
parents  and  others,  and  expose  themselves  to  the  lia- 
bility of  being  harassed  by  a  prosecution  at  law. 

But  as  to  any  misdemeanors  of  which  the  pupils  are 
guilty  in  passing  between  the  school-house  and  their 
homes,  which  directly  and  injuriously  affect  the  good 
order  and  government  of  the  school,  and  the  right  train- 
ing of  the  scholars,  such  as  truancy,  willful  tardiness, 
quarreling  with  other  children,  the  use  of  indecent  and 
profane  language,  etc.,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  these 
come  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  teacher,  and  are 
properly  matters  for  discipline  in  the  school. 

4.  Teachers  may,  at  their  discretion,  detain  scholars 
a  reasonable  time  after  the  regular  school  hours,  for  the 
purposes  connected  with  the  discipline,  order,  or  instruc- 
tion of  the  school.  This  practice  has  been  sanctioned 
by  general  and  immemorial  usage  among  our  schools, 
and  by  the  authority  and  consent  of  school  committees, 
expressed  or  implied,  and  has  been  found  exceedingly 
useful  in  its  influence  and  results.     (Hooker.) 


CHAPTER  yn. 

THE  INSTRUMENT   TO   BE    USED    IN  PUNISHING. 

Sec.  1.  Whether  the  instrument  used  by  the  teacher, 
for  the  punishment  of  a  pupil,  was  a  proper  one,  is  for 
the  jury  to  decide,  in  consideration  of  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  Evidence  that  the  same  kind  of 
instrument  was  used  in  other  schools  in  the  vicinity  will 
rebut  the  charge  of  malice,  by  showing  that  the  teacher 
did  not  resort  to  an  unusual  instrument.  (Lander  v. 
Seaver,  32  Vermont  R,  125.) 

Sec.  2.  The  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts 
are  of  the  ojDinion  that  a  ferule  is  a  ];>i'oper  instriwient 
of  punishment.  In  the  case  in  which  this  decision  was 
rendered,  there  was  evidence  that  the  pupil  disobeyed 
a  proper  rule  of  school,  which  had  been  j^ublished  by 
the  defendant  to  the  school  in  her  presence.  The  de- 
fendant introduced  evidence  to  show  that  the  j^upil  was 
obstinate,  told  falsehoods,  and  Avas  insolent  before  and 
during  the  time  of  punishment ;  and  alleged  that  it  was 
for  all  these  faults  that  he  inflicted  the  punishment. 
There  was  also  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the  j^un- 
ishmcnt  was  not  very  severe  till  after  the  pupil  had 


INSTRUMENT  TO  BE    USED  IX  PUNISHmG.     117 

replied  to  Lim  •uith  insolent  words  and  manner;  and  it 
was  proved  that  the  defendant  ceased  punisliing  when 
the  pupil  acknowledged  her  fault,  asked  forgiveness, 
and  promised  to  behave  better.  The  defendant  asked 
the  judge  to  instruct  the  jury  "  that  a  school-teacher  is 
amenable  to  the  laws,  in  a  criminal  prosecution  for  pun- 
ishing a  scholar,  only  when  he  acts  malo  animo,  from 
vindictive  feelings,  or  under  the  violent  impulses  of 
passion  or  malevolence ;  that  he  is  not  liable  for  errors 
of  opinion  or  mistakes  of  judgment  merely,  provided  he 
is  governed  by  an  honest  purpose  of  heart  to  promote, 
by  the  discipline  employed,  the  highest  welfare  of  the 
school,  and  the  best  interests  of  the  scholar ;  that  he  is 
liable  in  a  criminal  prosecution  for  punishing  a  scholar 
only  when  the  amount  of  punishment  inflicted  is  more 
than  adequate  to  subdue  the  scholar  and  secure  obedi- 
ence to  the  rules  of  the  school."  The  judge  did  not 
instruct  the  jury  as  requested,  but  instructed  them 
"that  a  teacher  had  aright  to  inflict  corporal  punish- 
ment upon  a  scholar ;  that  the  case  proved  was  one  in 
which  such  punishment  might  properly  be  inflicted ; 
that  the  instrument  used  (a  ferule)  was  a  proper  one ; 
that,  in  inflicting  corporal  punishment,  a  teacher  must 
exercise  reasonable  judgment  and  discretion,  and  must 
be  governed,  as  to  the  mode  and  severity  of  the  pun- 
ishment, by  the  nature  of  the  ofiense,  and  by  the  age, 
size,  and  apparent  powers  of  endurance  of  the  pupil ; 
that  the  only  question  in  this  case  was  whether  the 
punishment  Avas  excessive  and  improper ;  that,  if  they 


118     INSTRUMENT  TO  BE   USED  IN  PUNISHING. 

should  find  the  punishment  to  have  been  reasonable  and 
proper,  the  defendant  could  not  be  deemed  guilty  of  an 
assault  and  battery ;  but  if,  upon  all  the  evidence  in  the 
case,  they  should  find  the  punishment  to  have  been  im- 
proper and  excessive,  the  defendant  should  be  found 
guilty."  The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and 
exceptions  having  been  taken  by  the  defendant  to  the 
foregoing  charge  of  the  judge,  the  case  was  after-ward 
argued  before  the  appellate  court,  where  the  charge  of 
the  judge  was  declared  to  be  correct.  (Commonwealth 
V.  Randall,  4  Gray,  37.) 

Sec.  4.  A  school-master  is  liable  criminally,  if,  m  in- 
flicting punishment  upon  his  pupil,  he  goes  beyond  the 
limit  of  reasonaUe  castigation,  and,  either  in  the  mode  or 
degree  of  correction,  is  guilty  of  any  unreasonable  or  dis- 
proportionate violence  or  force;  and  whether  the  pun- 
ishment was  excessive  under  the  circumstances  of  any 
case,  is  a  question  for  the  jun'y.  (Commonwealth  'o. 
Randall,  4  Gray,  36  ;  3  Greenl.  on  Ev.  sec.  63.) 

Sec.  5.  Teachers  should  ever  avoid  those  low,  degrad- 
ing, and  improper  forms  of  punishment,  such  as  tying  up 
scholars'  hands  and  feet,  compelling  them  to  hold  a 
weight  in  their  hands  with  their  arms  extended,  pinch- 
ing, pulling,  and  wringing  their  ears,  cheeks,  and  arms, 
and  other  similar  modes,  which  are  sometimes  used,  as  the 
committee  are  decidedly  of  the  oi^inion  that  a  judicious 
teacher  will  find  other  methods  of  governing  more  con- 
sistent and  more  effectual.  (Reg.  for  the  Town  of  Smith- 
field,  R.  I.  Xo.  S.) 


CHAPTER  yill. 

THE  LAW  AS   TO   THE  POWER  OF  PARENTS   OVER 
TEACHERS. 

Sec.  1.  The  school-master  and  the  Jcing. — In  school, 
where  the  mind  is  fii'st  placed  under  care  to  be  fitted  for 
the  grand  purposes  of  life,  the  child  should  be  taught  to 
consider  his  instructor,  in  many  respects,  superior  to  the 
parent  in  point  of  authority.  The  infant  mind  early  ap- 
prehends and  distinguishes  with  a  suq^rising  sagacity, 
and  is  always  more  influenced  by  example  than  jjrecejjt. 
When  a  parent,  therefore,  enters  the  school,  and  by  re- 
spectful deportment  acknowledges  the  teacher's  author- 
ity, the  pupil's  obedience  and  love  for  the  master  are 
strengthened ;  and  the  principle  of  subordination  is  nat- 
urally ingrafted  in  the  child,  and  in  the  most  agreeable 
and  effectual  manner  possible ;  that  is,  by  the  influence 
of  example.  It  is  by  tHs  happy  conspiracy  between  the 
teacher  and  parent  that  a  new  power — a  genial  influ- 
ence over  the  infant  mind — is  acquired,  which  is  of  infi- 
nite importance  to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  society. 
To  aim  a  blow  at  this  power  would  be  to  strike  at  the 
veiy  basis  of  magisterial  authority.  It  Avas  to  support 
tliis  important  element  of  good  government   that  the 


120  THE  LAW  AS    TO   THE  POWER 

learned  and  judicious  school-master  said  to  Charles  II. 
in  the  plenitude  of  his  power :  "  Sire,  pull  off  thy 
hat  in  my  school ;  for  if  my  scholars  discover  that  the 
king  is  above  me  in  authority  here,  they  will  soon 
cease  to  respect  me."  (Morris's  Case,  1  City  Hall 
Rec.  55.) 

Sec.  2.  Every  magi's  house  is  his  castle. — This  old 
maxim  of  English  law  (5  Rep.  92)  is  as  applicable  to 
the  school-master  as  to  any  other  person  who  is  in  the 
lawful  possession  of  a  house.  It  is  true  that  the  school 
officers,  as  such,  have  certain  rights  in  the  school-house ; 
but  the  law  will  not  allow  even  them  to  interfere  with 
the  teacher  while  he  keeps  strictly  within  the  line  of  his 
duty.  Having  been  legally  put  in  possession,  he  can 
hold  it  for  the  purposes  and  the  time  agreed  upon ;  and 
no  parent,  not  even  the  governor  of  the  State,  nor  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  has  any  right  to  enter  it 
and  disturb  him  in  the  lawful  performance  of  his  duties. 
If  persons  do  so  enter,  he  should  order  them  out ;  and  if 
they  do  not  go,  on  being  requested  to  do  so,  he  may  use 
such  force  as  is  necessary  to  eject  them.  And  if  he  finds 
that  he  is  unable  to  put  them  out  himself,  he  may  call 
on  others  to  assist  him ;  and  if  no  more  force  than  is 
actually  necessary  to  remove  the  intruders  is  employed, 
the  law  will  justify  the  teacher's  act  and  the  acts  of 
those  who  assisted  him.  (Stevens  v.  Fassett,  27  Maine, 
266  ;  1  City  Hall  Rec.  55 ;  2  Met.  23  ;  6  Barb.  608 ;  8  T. 
R.  299 ;  2  Ro.  Abr.  548 ;  2  Selk.  641 ;  1  C.  &  P.  6  ;  8  T. 
R.  "ZH;  Wharton's  Am.  Crim.  Law,  1256.) 


OF  PARENTS  OVER   TEAOHERS.  12I 

In  case  a  teaclier  has  been  selected  and  ajiproved  by 
the  superintending  committee  in  conformity  to  law,  there 
is  no  authority  in  the  prudential  committee  or  the  dis- 
trict to  close  the  house  against  such  teacher.  (See  8 
Cush.  191,  and  Law  Reporter,  vol.  22,  213,  Ninth  School 
District  in  "Weymouth  v.  Loud.) 

But  in  such  case  or  in  any  case  where  the  teacher  is  not 
in  actual  possession,  but  merely  has  the  right  of  posses- 
sion, he  should  not  attempt  to  gain  possession  by  phys- 
ical force.  The  law  will  bear  him  out  in  maintaining 
his  possession  by  force  if  he  can  make  it  appear  that 
force  was  necessary ;  but  his  right  of  possession  he  must 
maintain  in  another  way.  For  example,  if  a  teacher  is 
"  barred  out"  of  the  school-house  by  his  scholai-s  or  oth- 
ers, he  should  at  once  notify  the  directors,  who  in  turn 
may  appeal,  if  necessary,  to  the  township  board  invested 
with  the  legal  custody  of  the  house.  In  case  neither  the 
directors  nor  the  board  cause  the  door  to  be  opened,  the 
teacher,  by  holding  himself  in  readiness  to  discharge  his 
duties,  can  collect  his  pay  precisely  as  though  bis  school 
had  not  been  interrupted.  (Ohio  School  Laws,  1805, 
Dec.  32.) 

Sec.  3.  The  vulgar  impression  that  parents  have  a 
legal  right  to  dictate  to  teachers  is  entirely  erroneous. — 
As  it  would  be  manifestly  improper  for  the  teacher  to 
undertake  to  dictate  to  the  parents  in  their  own  house, 
so  it  would  be  improper  for  the  parents  to  dictate 
to  him  in  his,  the  scbool-housc.  Nor  does  it  matter 
whether  the  parents  own  their  house,  or  whether,  like 


122  THE  LAW  AS    TO   THE  POWER 

the  teacher,  they  only  have  possession  of  it  for  a  certain 
time  specified  and  on  certain  conditions,  and  perhaps  for 
certain  piirposes  named  in  tlie  lease.  In  either  case,  the 
lawful  possession  is  enough.  It  may  be  very  proper, 
under  certain  circumstances,  for  the  teacher  to  go  to 
the  house  of  the  parents  for  an  explanation,  or  to  re- 
ceive or  give  advice ;  and  it  may  be  equally  proper 
for  parents,  under  certain  circumstances,  to  go  to  the 
school-house  for  an  explanation,  or  to  receive  or  give 
advice,  provided  that,  in  both  cases,  it  is  done  in  the 
right  spirit.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
school-master  has  no  right  whatever  to  exercise  au- 
thority over  parents  out  of  the  school-house,  and  that 
parents,  as  such,  have  no  right  whatever  to  exercise  au- 
thority over  the  master.  When  the  interests  of  par- 
ents and  teachers  are  properly  understood,  there  will 
be  complete  harmony  and  unity  of  action ;  but  until 
that  happy  day  comes,  it  is  well  enough  for  all  to 
know  that  the  teacher's  position  does  not  require  him 
to  please  any  parent,  but  to  do  his  duty,  even  though 
he  displease  them  all.  The  impression  that  parents 
have  a  right  to  go  to  the  school  and  dictate  to  or 
insult  the  teacher  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  spirit  and 
letter  of  the  law  establishing  the  common  or  public 
schools  throughout  the  country.  In  private  schools 
the  case  is  somewhat  different ;  for  the  parents  there, 
in  legal  effect,  are  the  emj^loyers  of  the  teacher,-  and 
consequently  his  masters ;  but  in  the  common  and  pub- 
lic schools  they  are  neither  his  employers  nor  his  mas- 


OF  PARSyrS   OVER  TEACHERS.  123 

ters,  and  it  is  entirely  out  of  place  for  tliem  to  attempt 
to  give  him  orders.  "  If  any  parent,  guardian,  or  other 
person,  from  any  cause,  fancied  or  real,  visit  a  school 
with  the  avowed  intention  of  upbraiding  or  insulting 
the  teacher  in  the  presence  of  the  school,  and  shall  so 
upbraid  or  insult  a  teacher,  such  person,  for  such  con- 
duct, shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  more  than  twenty- 
five  dollars,  which,  when  collected,  shall  go  into  the  gen- 
eral tuition  revenue."  (School  Laws  of  Ind.  1865,  p.  36, 
sec.  162.)  "  Any  parent,  guardian,  or  other  person,  who 
shall  upbraid,  insult,  or  abuse  any  teacher  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  school,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  nor  exceed- 
ing one  hundred  dollars."  (Revised  School  Law  of  Cal. 
1866.)  If  any  parent  or  guardian  shall  abuse  a  teacher, 
by  the  use  of  offensive  language,  or  shall  use  any  means 
to  intimidate  him  from  exercising  proper  discipline,  the 
teacher  may  suspend  from  school  privileges  the  children 
of  such  parent  or  guardian  until  the  case  can  be  heard 
and  determined  by  the  coijimissioner.  (By-Laws  of  Md. 
School  Comrs.  1865,  p.  18,  No.  11.)  In  no  case  shall  a 
pati'on  of  the  school,  who  has  I'eason  to  complain  of  the 
discipline  or  conduct  of  the  teacher,  make  such  com- 
plaint in  the  presence  of  the  pupils.  The  commissioner 
is  the  only  person  authorized  to  hear  and  determine 
charges  against  teachers.  (Id.  No.  10.)  In  Ohio,  the 
boards  of  education  have  power  to  determine  the  stud- 
ies to  be  pursued,  and  the  school-books  to  be  used  in 
the  several  schools  under  their  control.     (Ohio  School 


124  TEi;  LAW  AS   TO   THE  POWER 

Laws,  1865,  ch.  1,  sec.  17.)  The  power  herein  vested 
in  boards  of  education  carries  with  it  the  authority  to 
prescribe  a  course  of  study  for  such  schools,  and  the 
right  to  determine,  or  to  authorize  the  teachers  to  de- 
termine, the  studies  to  be  pursued  by  each  individual 
pupil.  The  general  course  of  study  to  be  j^ui'sued  in 
each  school  should  be  ijrescribed  by  the  board  of  educa- 
tion ;  but  the  studies  to  be  pursued,  and  the  lessons  to  be 
prepared  by  each  pupil,  should  be  left  to  the  teachers, 
or  the  acting  manager  of  schools,  who  should  be  em- 
powered by  the  board  to  assign  such  studies  and  lessons 
to  each  pupil  as  tlie  advancement  of  such  pupil  and  the 
classification  of  the  school  will  j^ermit  df  and  justify. 
When  the  parent  or  guardian  refuses  to  permit  his 
child  or  ward  to  cotnphj  xoith  the  direction  of  the 
school  authorities,  such  disorderly  pupil  may  he  sus- 
pended from  school.  Such  authority  is  frequently  ex- 
ercised in  the  management  of  our  best  graded  schools, 
and,  in  many  instances,  of  our  township  sub-district 
schools.  The  success  of  every  school  requires  classifi- 
cation and  system,  which  can  not  be  secured  if  every 
parent  may  dictate  the  studies  to  be  pursued  in  school 
by  his  children.  The  law  wisely  vests  such  power  in 
the  school  authorities.  In  case  the  township  board  fail 
to  prescribe  the  studies  to  be  pursued,  or  to  authorize 
teachers  to  classify  puj^ils,  and  assign  their  respective 
studies  and  lessons,  the  local  directors  may  exercise 
such  authority,  though  not  to  the  extent,  perhaps,  of 
excluding  pupils  from  school  few  non-compliance  with 


OF  PARENTS  OYER   TEACHERS.  125 

their  dh'ections.  In  case  neither  the  board  nor  the 
directors  empower  teachers  to  determine  the  studies 
of  pupils,  they  may  still  exercise  such  authority^  and 
refuse  to  instruct  inipils  m  studies  and  classes  ichich 
they  have  not  assigned  to  them.  Parents  feeling  ag- 
grieved may  aj^peal  to  the  local  directors  or  to  the 
board  of  education.     (Id.  Dec.  57.) 

There  is  no  privity  of  contract  between  the  j^arents  of 
pupils  and  the  teacher.  His  contract'  is  with  tlie  town. 
He  is  responsible  to  the  committee  who  represent  the 
town.  The  general  charge  and  superintendence  of  the 
schools,  in  the  absence  of  express  legal  provisions,  in- 
cludes the  power  of  determining  what  pupils  shall  be 
received  and  what  rejected.  If  children  are  suffering 
from  a  contagious  disease,  or  so  impxu'e  in  morals  as 
to  render  association  with  them  pernicious  to  others, 
the  school  committee  may  direct  the  teacher  to  ex- 
clude them  temporarily  or  permanently.  In  such  cases, 
neither  parent  nor  pupil  has  a  remedy  against  the 
teacher,  nor  against  the  committee,  unless  they  have 
acted  corruptly  or  maliciously  in  the  proceeding.  But 
the  law  will  not  j^resume  that  the  committee,  who  are 
invested  with  the  power  of  suiicrintendence  and  manage- 
ment, will  act  arbitrarily  and  unjustly  in  a  matter  sub- 
mitted to  their  judgment.  Where  schools  are  graded, 
the  committee,  under  the  general  power  of  superintend- 
ence, will  decide  how  the  schools  shall  be  organized, 
how  many  shall  be  kept,  and  what  shall  be  the  qualifi- 
cations, as  to  age  and  attainments,  for  admission.     The 


126  THE  LAW  AS   TO  THE  POWER 

same  powers  also  exist  in  regard  to  district  schools,  as 
for  as  tliey  may  be  ai)plicable.  The  law  vests  a  plenary 
authority  in  the  committee  to  arrange,  classify,  and  dis- 
tribute pupils  as  they  think  best  adapted  to  their  gen- 
ei"al  proficiency  and  welfare.  In  the  absence  of  special 
legislation  on  the  subject,  the  law  has  vested  the  power 
in  the  committee  to  regulate  the  system  of  distribution 
and  classification  ;  and  when  this  power  is  reasonably 
exercised,  without  being  abused  or  perverted  by  color- 
able pretenses,  the  decision  of  the  committee  will  be 
deemed  conclusive.  (See  23  Pick.  224;  5  Cush.  198  ;  8 
Cush,  160.) 

Sec.  3.  Parents  have  no  remedi/  as  against  the  teach- 
er.— As  a  general  thing,  the  only  j^ersons  Avho  have  a  legal 
right  to  give  orders  to  the  teacher  are  his  emj^loyers, 
namely,  the  committee  in  some  States,  and  in  others  the 
directors  or  trustees.  If  his  conduct  is  approved  by 
his  employers,  the  parents  have  no  remedy  as  against 
him  or  them ;  for  the  law  will  not  presume  that  the 
committee,  etc.,  who  are  invested  with  the  powers  of 
superintendence  and  management,  will  act  arbitrarily 
and  unjustly  in  a  matter  submitted  to  their  judgment. 
(23  Pick.  227.)  The  following  decision  on  this  same 
point  is  later,  and  to  the  same  effect.  The  board  of 
trustees  in  the  city  of  N"ew-York  ai'e  vested  with  the 
power  to  conduct  and  manage  the  schools  in  their  re- 
spective wards ;  and  in  this  conduct  and  management 
the  discipline  of  the  scliools  is  exclusively  under  their 
control.     To  their  direction,  consequently  and  necessa- 


OF  PARENTS  OVER   TEACHERS.  127 

rily,is  confided  the  power  to  decide  questions  relating  to 
the  violation  of  discipline,  and  their  judgment  is  conclu- 
sive. (18  Abbotts'  Pr.  165.)  If  a  child  of  proper  age 
and  qualifications  is  rejected  by  the  master,  the  proper 
course  for  the  parent  is  to  appeal  to  the  committee, 
trustees,  or  dii-ectors,  as  the  case  may  be.  If,  on  their 
requisition,  the  master  should  refuse  to  accept  the  pupil, 
they  would  have  ample  means  to  enforce  their  author- 
ity by  means  of  their  contract  with  the  master.  But 
if  they  approve  of  and  confirm  the  act  of  the  master, 
we  are  to  believe  that  there  is  good  and  sufficient  cause 
for  the  rejection  of  the  pupil.  (23  Pick.  227.)  The 
trustees  may  always  expel  a  scholar  when,  in  their  judg- 
ment, the  good  order  and  proper  government  of  the 
school  require  it.  (U  Barb.  225  ;  38  Maine,  37G  ;  8 
Cusli.  164.)  And  if  they  err  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duty  in  good  faith,  they  are  not  liable  to  an  action  there- 
for. (32  Vermont,  224.)  Consequently  the  master 
ought  to  consult  the  trustees  before  he  expels  a  pupil, 
(23  Pick.  227;)  and  if  they  give  their  consent,  the 
parent  has  no  remedy,  and  there  is  nothing  to  fear.  In 
no  case  can  a  pai'ent  sustain  an  action  for  an  injury  to 
his  child,  unless  some  actual  Ibss  has  accrued  to  him,  or 
he  has  been  subjected  to  the  violation  of  some  right, 
from  which  a  possibility  of  damage  to  him  may  arise. 
(14  Barb.  225;  38  Maine,  376.)  A  parent  of  a  child 
expelled  from  a  public  school  can  not  maintain  an 
action  against  the  school  committee  by  whose  order  it 
was  done.     (lb.)     Kor  is  the  teacher  of  a  town  school 


128  THE  LAW  AS   TO  THE  POWER 

lialble  to  an  action  by  a  parent  for  refusing  to  instruct 
his  children.  (23  Pick.  224.)  •  The  teacher  has  the  right 
to  direct  how^  and  when  each  pupil  shall  attend  to  his 
appropriate  dlities,  and  the  manner  in  which  pupils  shall 
demean  themselves,  j^rovided  that  nothing  unreasonable 
is  demanded.  (27  Maine,  281.)  A  requirement  by  the 
teacher  of  a  district  school  that  the  scholars  in  English 
grammar  shall  write  compositions  is  a  reasonable  one, 
and  refusal  to  comply  therewith  will  justify  the  expul- 
sion of  the  scholar  from  the  school.  (32  Vermont  R. 
224.)  A  rule  requiring  every  scholar  to  read  from  the 
Protestant  version  of  the  Bible  may  be  enforced  by  the 
trustees,  or  by  the  teacher,  in  accordance  with  the 
known  wishes  of  the  trustees,  and  the  scholar  refusing 
to  comply  with  such  rule  may  be  expelled  from  the 
school.  (38  Maine,  376.)  A  scholar  may  be  expelled 
for  truancy,  or  for  misconduct  in  school,  or  for  disobe- 
dience to  its  reasonable  regulations.  (8  Cush.  R.  164.) 
Children  unvaccinated  may  be  excluded  from  school. 
(N.  Y.  Session  Laws,  1860,  761,  ch.  438.)  Teachers  are 
not  required  to  hear  the  reci«tations  of  dilatory  pupils  or 
those  who  are  not  prepared  at  the  regular  time  for  reci- 
tation, unless  it  can  be  done  without  interrupting  the 
regular  school  duty.  Teachers  are  authorized  to  sus- 
pend pupils  who  are  persistently  disobedient  or  immoral 
in  their  conduct,  but  must  promptly  report  the  case  with 
the  charges  to  the  commissioner  for  his  action.  (By- 
Laws  of  Md,  Comrs.  1865.)  Directors  are  authorized 
to  suspend  or  expel  pupils  for  disobedient,  refractory, 


OF  PAREXTS   OVER   TEACHERS.  129 

or  incorrigibly  bad  conduct.  This  authority  they  may 
delegate  to  the  teacher,  to  be  exercised  under  such  cir- 
cumstances and  for  such  offenses  as  they  may  prescribe. 
The  directors  may  also  empower  the  teacher  to  inflict 
the  iDcnalty  of  immediate  though  temporary  suspen- 
sion, in  cases  of  sudden  and  violent  acts  of  insubordina- 
tion or  rebellion.  But  the  teacher  must  consider  that 
the  legal  authority  to  inflict  these  extreme  penalties 
emanates  from  the  directors,  and  does  not  vest  pri- 
marily in  him,  and  that  it  is  therefore  his  duty  to  con- 
form his  action  to  the  instructions  received  from  the 
directors,  or  to  the  discretion  expressly  conferred  by 
them.  In  all  cases  of  temporary  suspension,  the  facts 
must  be  reported  to  the  directors,  as  soon  as  practica- 
ble, for  their  information  and  sanction.  (111.  Amended 
School  Laws,  18G5,  p,  187.)  It  can  scarcely  be  neces- 
sary to  remark  on  the  importance  of  order  and  sys- 
tem in  the  schools,  not  only  to  enable-  the  pupils  to 
learn  any  thing,  but  to  give  them  those  habits  of  reg- 
ularity so  essential  in  the  formation  of  character. 
Punctuality  of  attendance,  as  v/ell  as  its  steady  con- 
tinuance, should  be  enforced.  Parents  should  be  told 
how  much  their  children  lose,  to  what  inconvenience 
they  expose  the  teacher,  and  what  disorder  they  bring 
upon  the  whole  school,  by  not  insisting  upon  the  schol- 
ars being  punctually  at  the  school-room  at  the  apjioint- 
ed  hour  ;  and,  above  all,  they  should  be  warned  of  the 
injurious  consequences  of  allowing  their  children  to  be 
absent  from  school   during   the   term.     By  being   in- 


130  THE  LAW  AS   TO   TUB  POWKR 

dulged  in  absence,  tliey  lose  the  connection  of  their 
studies,  probably  fall  behind  their  class,  become  dis- 
couraged, and  then  seek  every  pretext  to  play  the  tru- 
ant. The  habit  of  irregularity  and  insubordination  thus 
acquired  will  be  apt  to  mark  their  character  through 
life. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  trustees  to  cooj)erate  with  the 
teacher  in  the  government  of  the  school,  and  to  aid 
him,  to  the  extent  of  their  power  and  influence,  in  the 
enforcement  of  reasonable  and  proper  rules  and  regu- 
lations ;  but  they  have  no  right  to  dismiss  a  scholar 
except  for  the  strongest  reasons ;  for  example,  such  a 
degree  of  moral  depravity  as  to  render  an  association 
with  other  scholars  dangerous  to  the  latter,  or  such  vio- 
lent insubordination  as  to  render  the  maintenance  of 
discipline  and  order  impracticable  ;  in  which  case  they 
may  legally  exclude  him  from  the  school,  until  such 
period  as  he  may  consent  to  submit  to  the  reasonable 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  teacher  and  trustees ;  and 
if  after  such  exclusion  he  persists  in  attending,  without 
permission  from  the  trustees,  and  contrary  to  their 
directions,  he  may  be  proceeded  against  as  a  trespasser. 
A  teacher  may  employ  necessary  means  of  correc- 
tion to  maintain  order;  but  he  should  not  dismiss  a 
scholar  from  school  without  consultation  with  the  trus- 
tees.    (Mich.  School  Laws,  1864,  p.  163.) 

Sec.  4.  The  laio  as  to  disturbing  schools. — Although 
Avithout  any  sj)ecial  enactments,  no  one  has  any  right  to 
willfully  interrupt  or  disturb  a  school,  yet  several  of  the 


OF  PAREXTS   OVER    TEACHERS.  131 

States  have  tbouglit  it  prudent,  though  perhaps  not  ne- 
cessary, to  put  upon  their  statutes  Avhat  they  deem  to  be 
the  law  upon  this  subject,  and  at  the  same  time  to  de- 
fine the  fines  and  penalties  that  should  follow  the  viola- 
tion of  it.  In  some  of  the  States  it  is  made  a  criminal 
ofiense  to  willfully  interrupt  or  disturb  any  public,  pri- 
vate, or  select  school.  (28  Gonn.  232.)  The  Ohio  statute 
says :  That,  if  any  person  or  persons  shall  hereafter 
willfully  disturb,  molest,  or  interrupt  any  literary  so- 
ciety, school,  or  society  formed  for  the  intellectual  im- 
provement of  its  membei's,  or  any  other  school  or  so- 
ciety organized  under  any  law  of  this  State,  or  any  school, 
society,  or  meeting,  formed  or  convened  for  improve- 
ment in  music,  letters,  or  for  social  amusement,  such  per- 
son or  persons  so  offending  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  on  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined 
in  any  sum  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  twenty  dol- 
lars, with  costs  of  prosecution,  and  shall  stand  committed 
until  such  fine  shall  have  been  paid  :  Provided  such  com- 
mitment shall  not  exceed  five  days ;  and  provided,  fur- 
ther, that  the  judgment  for  costs  shall  not  be  abated 
until  such  costs  shall  have  been  fully  paid.  (Laws  of 
1864.)  Every  person  who  shall  at  any  time  willfully  in- 
terrupt or  disturb  any  district  school,  or  any  public,  pri- 
vate, or  select  school,  while  the  same  is  in  session,  shall 
pay  a  fine  not  exceeding  seven  dollars,  nor  less  than  one 
dollar,  or  shall  suffer  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  for 
not  more  than  thirty  days,  or  shall  suffer  such  fine  and 
imprisonment  both,  at  the  discretion  of  the  court.  (School 


132  THE  LAW  AS    TO  THE  POWER 

Laws  of  Conn.  1864.)  This  special  enactment  does  not 
render  any  general  law  nugatory,  bnt  enables  the  prose- 
cuting officer  to  reach  more  readily  the  cases  mentioned  in 
this  act,  (Id.)  The  Rhode  Island  statute  i-eads  as  follows : 
Every  person  Avho  shall  be  convicted  of  willfully  inter- 
rupting or  disturbing  any  town  or  ward  meeting,  any  as- 
sembly of  people  met  for  religious  worship,  or  any  public 
or  i^rivate  school,  or  any  meeting  lawfully  and  peace- 
ably held  for  purposes  of  literary  or  scientific  improve- 
ment, either  within  or  Avithout  the  place  where  such 
meeting  or  school  is  held,  shall  be  imprisoned  not  ex- 
ceeding one  year,  or  fined  not  exceeding  five  hundred 
dollars.  A  complaint  for  this  ofiense  may  be  made  to 
the  attorney-general,  or  any  justice  of  the  peace.  (School 
Laws  of  R.  I.  1857,  p.  55.)  Any  person  who  shall  will- 
fully disturb  any  public  school,  or  any  public  school 
meeting,  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  liable 
to  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  nor  more  than  one  hun- 
dred dollars.  (Revised  School  Laws  of  Cal.  1866,  sec. 
113.)  The  following  is  the  language  of  the  New- 
York  statute :  Any  person  who  shall  willfully  disturb, 
interrupt,  or  disquiet  any  district  school  in  session,  or 
any  persons  assembled,  with  the  permission  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  district,  in  any  district  school-house,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  or  receiving  instruction  in  any 
branch  of  education  or  learning,  or  in  the  science  or 
practice  of  music,  shall  forfeit  twenty-five  dollars,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  school  district.  (N".  Y.  School  Laws, 
1866,  p.  11.)      It   shall  be  the  duty  of  the  trustees  of 


OF  TAEFyrS   OVER   TEACHERS.  133 

the  district,  or  tbe  teacher  of  the  school,  and  he  shall 
have  power,  to  enter  a  complaint  against  such  offender 
before  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  county,  or  the 
mayor,  or  any  alderman,  recorder,  or  other  magistrate 
of  the  city  wherein  the  offense  was  committed.  The 
magistrate  or  other  officer  before  whom  the  complaint 
is  made  shall  thei'eupon  by  his  warrant,  directed  to 
any  constable  or  person,  cause  the  person  complained 
of  to  be  arrested  and  brought  before  him  for  trial.  If 
such  23erson,  on  the  charge  being  stated  to  him,  shall 
plead  guilty,  the  magistrate  shall  convict  him ;  and,  if  he 
demands  a  trial  by  the  magistrate,  shall  summarily  try 
him ;  and,  if  he  demands  a  trial  by  jury,  the  magistrate 
shall  issue  a  venire,  and  impanel  a  jury  for  his  trial, 
and  he  shall  be  tried  in  the  same  manner  as  in  a  court 
of  special  sessions.  (Id.  p.  78,  sec.  4.)  If  any  person 
convicted  of  the  said  offense  do  not  immediately  pay 
the  penalty,  with  the  costs  of  the  prosecution,  or  give 
secui'ity  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  magistrate  for  the  pay- 
ment thereof  within  twenty  days,  the  magistrate  or 
other  officer  shall  commit  him  to  the  common  jail  of 
the  county,  there  to  be  imprisoned  until  the  penalty  and 
costs  be  paid,  but  not  exceeding  thirty  days.  (Id,  sec.  5.) 
The  law  in  Massachusetts  is  pretty  much  the  same. 
(General  Statutes  of  Mass.  ch.  165,  sec.  23.)  But,  as 
■we  before  intimated,  no  statutory  law  is  necessary.  The 
general  intendment  and  spirit  of  our  common  law  is 
sufficient  to  protect  our  scliools  from  being  willfully  dis- 
turbed, interrupted,  or  disquieted.     The  common  law 


134  THE  LAW  AS    TO   THE  POWER 

recognizes  no  distinction  between  wrong-doers,  and  in 
none  of  the  statutes  is  there  any  clause  favoring  or  ex- 
cepting parents  ;  consequently,  if  they  disturb  or  dis- 
quiet a  school,  they  are  not  excusable,  but  are  subject 
to  the  same  penalties  as  others.  It  is  the  policy  of  the 
States  generally  to  encourage  education,  and  all  well- 
conducted  schools  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  regarded  as  the 
wards  of  the  State  in  which  they  are.  Hence  it  will 
not  allow  any  of  them  to  be  disturbed,  disquieted,  or  in- 
terrupted with  impunity — evening-schools  no  more  than 
day-schools.  Even  a  private  school  kept  in  a  district 
school-house  for  instruction  in  the  art  of  writing  will 
be  protected,  or  at  least  those  who  disturb  it  willfully 
will  be  punished.  (The  State  v.  Leighton,  35  Maine,  185.) 
Sec.  5.  Character  on  trial. — When  a  teacher  is  put  on 
trial  for  assault  and  battery,  he  should  not  omit  to  prove 
his  good  character.  Every  man  who  lives  long  enough 
to  acquire  a  good  character  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of 
it  when  in  peril.  It  has  been  usual  to  treat  the  good 
character  of  the  party  accused  as  evidence  to  be  taken 
into  consideration  only  in  doubtful  cases.  Juries  have 
generally  been  told  that,  where  the  facts  proved  are  such 
as  to  satisfy  their  minds  of  the  guilt  of  the  party,  char- 
acter, however  excellent,  is  no  subject  for  their  consid- 
eration ;  but  that,  when  they  entertain  any  doubt  as 
to  the  guilt  of  the  party,  they  may  properly  turn  their 
attention  to  the  good  charactei*  which  he  has  received. 
(Bennet  v.  State,  Humph.  118.)  It  is,  however,  submit- 
ted with  deference,  that  the  good  character  of  the  party 


OF  PARENTS  OVER   TEACHERS.  135 

accused,  satisfoctorily  established  by  competent  witness- 
es, is  an  ingredient  which  ought  always  to  be  submit- 
ted to  the  consideration  of  the  jury,  together  with  the 
other  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  case.  The  nature 
of  the  charge,  and  the  evidence  by  which  it  is  support- 
ed, Avill  often  render  such  ingredients  of  little  or  no 
avail ;  but  the  more  correct  course  seems  to  be,  not  in 
any  case  to  withdraw  it  from  consideration,  but  to  leave 
the  jury  to  form  their  conclusion  upon  the  Avhole  of  the 
evidence,  whether  an  individual,  whose  character  was 
previously  unblemished,  has  or  has  not  committed  the 
particular  crime  for  which  he  is  called  upon  to  answer. 
(2  Rus.  on  Cr.  8th  Am.  ed.  785  ;  Rex  t*.  Stanard,  7  C. 
&  P.  673  ;  32  Eng.  Com.  Law  R.  081 ;  see  also  1  Cox 
R.  424;  2  Mass.  R.  317;  9  Barb.  609;  14  Missouri, 
502;  10  B.  Monroe's  R.  225;  8  Smedes  &  Mars.  R. 
401  ;  3  Strobh.  R.517  ;  1  Wheeler's  Cr.  Ca.  64;  1  City 
Hall  Rec.  11,82;  Rosco's  Cr.  Ev.  97;  1  Taylor  on 
Ev.  258 ;  5  Cush.  295  ;  Archbold's  Cr.  P.  &  P.  400  ; 
2  Stark.  Ev.  365  ;  2  Halsted's  Law  of  Ev.  150  ;  and  1 
Greenlf.  Ev.  54,  55.) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  LAW  AS   TO   THE  TEACHER'S  MORALITY. 

Sec.  1.  There  are  many  sciences  which  in  this  age  of 
enlightened  progress  are  useful,  but  only  one  of  them  is 
by  law  made  indispensable.  This  one  science  those  who 
have  the  training  of  youth  should  not  only  understand, 
but  they  may  lawfully  be  required  to  feel  it,  live  it,  and 
teach  it.  We  allude,  of  course,  to  "the  science  of 
duty,"  which  comprehends  every  thing  that  is  refined, 
chaste,  and  tender  in  the  hutnan  character,  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  which  prescribe  what  ought  to  take  place  in 
human  conduct  and  actions.  In  legal  phraseology,  this 
may  be  called  the  science  of  natural  jurisprudence.  It 
treats  of  the  relations,  rights,  and  duties  which  are  at- 
tached to  individuals  and  to  universal  society  by  the 
law  of  nature,  which  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  universe, 
controlling  alike  nations  and  individuals.  It  compre- 
hends the  whole  law  of  morality,  and  the  whole  theory 
of  good  conduct.  It  is  imperative  and  universal,  and 
around  it  are  grouped  all  tlie  motives  and  maxims  for 
human  action.  It  is  the  law  of  conscience,  the  law  of 
manliood,  the  law  of  life ;  and  the  violation  of  it  is  in- 


THE  TEACHER'S  MOR^ITY.  137 

decency,  vice,  degradation,  death.  It  is  eternal  and 
immutable :  men  may  violate,  but  tbey  can  not  alter  or 
repeal  it.  It  is  not  what  is  called  jDositive  law,  but  it 
is  none  the  less  imperative.  Positive  law  is  enacted  by 
men  and  written  in  books ;  whereas  the  law  of  nature 
emanates  from  the  Creator  of  men,  and  is  preserved  in 
their  hearts  and  consciences.  What  the  written  law 
merely  perinits,  the  law  of  nature  often  commands.  The 
former,  for  example,  permits  us  to  be  grateful  and  gen- 
erous, but  the  latter  commands  us  to  be  so.  We  must 
not,  therefore,  expect  to  find  in  books  a  full  enumeration 
of  all  the  duties  imposed  upon  us  by  law.  It  has  been 
contended  that  what  the  law  does  not  prohibit  it  can 
not  punish,  or,  rather,  Avhat  is  not  prohibited  by  law  can 
not  be  made  cause  for  punishment.  When  we  give  to 
law  its  most  comjirehensive  meaning,  the  position  con- 
tended for  is,  doubtless,  tnie.  If  we  do  not  eat,  we  vio- 
late the  law  of  nature,  and  are  punished  with  the  pangs 
of  hunger.  If  we  do  not  obey  the  law  of  self-defense, 
which  is  the  first  law  of  nature,  we  are  punished  with 
death.  These  punishments  are  even  more  certain  than 
if  they  were  inflicted  by  men.  The  lawyer  may  quib- 
ble over  the  words  of  the  statute,  and  tell  us  what  is  not 
there  prohibited  maybe  done  with  impunity;  but  the 
conscience  as  well  as  the  judgment  of  every  good  man 
tells  him  that  there  is  other  laAV  more  imperative  even 
than  the  statutory,  and  that  whatever  the  omissions  of 
the  latter  may  be,  th&'e  is  for  every  wrong  a  punishment^ 
mid  for  every  vice  a  penalty.     Having  said  this  much 


138  THE  LAW  AS  TO   THE    ■ 

in  reference  to  the  law  in  general,  we  will  now  give  our 
attention  exclusively  to  the  written  law,  and  give  such 
citations  thereto,  and  extracts  therefrom,  as  may  be 
necessary  for  a  full  exposition  of  the  positive  law  on  the 
subject  now  under  consideration.  For  the  sake  of  brev- 
ity, however,  and  because  we  are  writing  for  Americans, 
we  will  cite  only  American  law  as  it  now  exists  in  the 
several  States. 

Sec.  2.  Rhode  Island. — The  diffusion  of  virtue  as 
well  as  knowledge  among  the  people  is  essential  to  the 
j^reservation  of  their  rights  and  liberties.  (Const,  of  R.  I. 
art.  12,  sec.  1.)  The  school  committee  shall  not  sign 
any  certificate  of  qualification  unless  the  person  named 
in  the  same  shall  produce  evidence  of  good  moral  char- 
acter. (Rev.  Stat,  of  R.  I.  tit.  13,  ch.  67,  sec.  3.)  Every 
teacher  shall  aim  to  implant  and  cultivate  in  the  minds 
of  all  children  committed  to  his  care  the  principles  of 
morality  and  virtue.  (Id.  sec.  6.)  In  making  the  ex- 
aminations, the  committee  should  inquu-e,  firsts  as  to 
moral  character.  On  this  point  they  should  be  entirely 
satisfied  before  proceeding  further.  Some  oj)inion  can 
be  formed  from  the  general  deportment  and  language 
of  the  ajDijlicant;  but  the  safest  course  will  be,  with 
regard  to  those  Avho  are  strangers  to  the  committee,  to 
insist  on  the  written  testimony  of  persons  of  the  highest 
respectability  in  the  towns  and  neighborhoods  where 
they  have  resided ;  and  especially  to  require  the  certifi- 
cate of  the  school  committee  and  parents  where  they 
have  taught  before,  as  to  the  character  they  have  sus- 


TEACHERS  2I0EALITY.  139 

tained  and  the  iufluence  tbey  have  exerted  in  the  school 
and  in  society.  (Rem.  on  S.  L.  185  7,  j).  35.)  If  the 
teacher  has  a  proper  sense  of  the  importance  of  his  posi- 
tion, and  conducts  himself  accordingly,  he  Avill  secure 
to  himself  the  aft'ection  and  respect  of  the  people  of  his 
district,  by  exerting  his  utmost  powers  to  promote  the 
moral  and  intellectual  advancement,  not  only  of  his 
scholars,  but  of  the  community  around  him.  The  moral 
influence  he  may  exert  by  his  example  and  instructions 
can  hardly  be  estimated.  (Id.  p.  53.)  A  teacher  may 
be  dismissed  at  any  time  for  immorality,  although  he  is 
abundantly  competent  and  efiicient  in  every  other  re- 
spect. (Id.  p.  39.)  Even  in  this  State,  where  the  full- 
est religious  liberty  is  permitted,  the  people,  we  con- 
clude, are  not  disposed  to  encourage  any  relaxation  in 
the  laws  of  morality.  If  any  Rhode  Island  teacher  does 
not  know  this  and  feel  it,  he  should  immediately  seek 
some  other  vocation ;  for  the  school-rooms  of  that  State 
are  dedicated,  not  to  learned  hypocrisy  and  contagious 
vices,  but  to  liberty,  intelligence,  and  virtue — and  the 
greatest  of  these,  the  most  manly  and  the  most  neces- 
sary, is  virtue. 

Sec.  3.  Mmxe. — The  presidents,  professors,  and  tu- 
tors of  colleges,  the  preceptors  and  teachers  of  acad- 
emies, and  all  other  instructors  of  youth,  in  public  or 
private  institutions,  shall  use  their  best  endeavors  to 
impress  on  the  minds  of  the  children  and  youth  commit- 
ted to  their  care  and  instruction  the  principles  of  moral- 
ity and  justice,  and  a  sacred  regard  for  truth ;  love  of 


140  THE  LAW  AS  TO    THE 

country,  liumfinity,  and  a  universal  benevolence ;  sobri- 
ety, industry,  and  frugality;  charity,  moderation,  and 
temperance,  and  all  other  virtues  which  are  the  orna- 
ment of  human  society ;  and  to  lead  those  under  their 
care,  as  their  ages  and  capacities  admit,  into  a  particular 
understanding  of  the  tendency  of  such  virtues  to  preserve 
and  perfect  a  republican  constitution,  and  secure  the 
blessings  of  liberty  and  promote  their  future  happiness ; 
and  the  tendency  of  the  opposite  vices  to  slavery,  degra- 
dation, and  ruin.  (Rev.  Stat,  of  Me.  tit.  2,  ch.  2,  sec.  26.) 
To  awaken  young  minds  to  a  proper  sense  of  all  these 
virtues  is  a  high  privilege,  and  those  who  attemjjt  it  with 
success  are  infinitely  more  serviceable  to  the  state  than 
the  soldier  or  statesman.  Even  the  members  of  the 
learned  professions  have  not  so  wide  a  sphere,  and  can 
not  accomplish  so  much  good,  as  may  easily  be  accom- 
plished by  the  faithful,  intelligent,  conscientious,  and 
zealous  teacher. 

Sec.  4.  New-Hampshire. — No  jjerson  in  this  State 
should  receive  a  certificate  to  teach  unless  he  possesses 
a  good  moral  chai'acter,  and  a  temper  and  disposition 
suitable  for  an  instructor  of  youth.  (Laws  of  1858,  ch. 
2088,  sec.  1.)  This  is  brief  but  comprehensive ;  for  it 
may  legally  be  interpreted  to  mean  all  that  is  stated  in 
the  laws  of  Maine  and  Rhode  Island. 

Sec.  5.  Vermont. — The  town  superintendent  shall 
require  full  and  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  good  moral 
character  of  all  instructors  who  may  be  employed  in 
the  public  schools  in  their  respective  towns.     (School 


TEACHERS  3WRAL1TY.  141 

Laws  of  Vt.  1862,  sec.  11.)  Whenever,  upon  personal 
examination  of  schools,  the  superintendent  of  any  town 
shall  become  satisfied,  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  that 
a  teacher  to  Avhom  a  certificate  has  been  granted  is  set- 
ting an  evil  example  before  his  school,  the  superintend- 
ent is  in  such  case  empowered  to  revoke  the  certificate 
of  s\^h  teacher.     (Id.  sec.  16.) 

Sec.  6.  Massachusetts. — The  school  committee,  un- 
less the  town  at  its  annual  meeting  determines  that  the 
duty  may  be  performed  by  the  prudential  committee, 
shall  select  and  contract  with  the  teachers  of  the  public 
schools ;  and  shall  require  full  and  satisfoctory  evidence 
of  the  good  moral  character  of  all  instructors  who  may 
be  employed.  (Gen.  Stat,  of  Mass.  tit.  xi.  ch.  38,  sec. 
23.)  The  duty  here  indicated  is  more  important  than 
any  other  connected  with  the  public  schools  of  the 
State.  The  teacher  gives  character  to  the  school,  and 
the  duty  of  ascertaining  the  moral  and  literary  qualifi- 
cations of  candidates  is  put  upon  the  superintending 
committee.  How  inadequate  for  the  performance  of 
these  solemn  trusts  is  the  opportunity  of  a  few  min- 
utes' or  a  few  hours'  examination?  The  evidence  of 
fitness  must  be  found,  if  found  at  all,  in  the  prerioiis 
life  and  experience  of  the  candidate,  and  not  in  a  brief 
personal  examination  or  the  certificates  of  friends.  (Sec. 
Rep.  1861,  p.  102.)  The  fact  that  a  person  claiming 
to  be  a  teacher  entered  upon  the  work  without  first  se- 
curing the  approval  of  the  superintending  committee 
would  be  evidence  of  his  ignorance  of  duty,  suflScient 


142  THE  LAW  AS  TO  THE 

to  justify  the  committee  in  rejecting  him.  Such  a  per- 
son must  be  either  ignorant  of  the  duty  which  every 
teacher  ought  to  know,  or  morally  disqualified  for  riglit- 
doing.  (Id,  p.  103.)  The  school  committee  may  dis- 
miss from  employment  any  teacher  whenever  they  think 
proper,  and  such  teacher  shall  receive  no  compensation 
for  services  rendered  after  such  dismissal.  (Gen.  Stat. 
tit,  xi.  ch.  38,  sec.  25.)  This  power  is  as  nearly  abso- 
lute as  any  power  in  our  government.  It  will  often 
happen  that  a  committee  may  be  in  possession  of  suffi- 
cient reasons  to  justify  the  dismissal  of  a  teacher,  and 
yet  a  wise  public  policy  would  avoid  disclosure  of  them. 
There  is  no  probability  that  the  i^ower  will  be  abused ; 
indeed,  committees  are  reluctant  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility except  in  extreme  cases.  (Sec.  Rep.  1861,  p.  103.) 
For  immorality,  however,  we  think  that  tlie  committee 
should  dismiss  the  teacher  without  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, although  public  policy  may  require  that  when  this 
is  done  further  or  imnecessary  disclosures  should  be 
avoided. 

Sec.  7.  Co^'i^ecticut. — The  provisions  for  the  exam- 
ination of  teachers  are  plain  and  positive.  (School 
Laws  of  Conn.  1864,  ch.  5,  sec.  1.)  The  examining 
committee  are  to  be  satisfied  with  the  moral  character, 
literary  attainments,  and  ability  to  teach,  of  all  candi- 
dates to  Avhom  a  certificate  is  given.  The  law  leaves 
no  discretion  in  giving  the  certificate  to  be  exercised 
by  the  examining  committee  till  the  candidate  is  found 
to  possess  a  good  moral  character.     The  j^enuriousncss 


TEACEERB  MORALITY.  143 

or  ignorance  of  district  committees  may  lead  to  the  em- 
ployment of  incompetent  persons  as  teachers,  but  the 
school  visitors  have  no  authority  by  law  to  give  certi- 
ficates to  such  persons.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  un- 
der obligations  to  the  school,  to  the  State,  and  to  teach- 
ers, not  to  certify  to  a  person's  ability  or  authorize  his 
attempting  to  teach,  till  they  are  satisfied  that  he  pos- 
sesses the  qualifications  required  by  law,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  is  a  good  mcral  character.  (Id.  p.  39.) 
The  board  of  \T^sitors  shall  annul  the  certificates  of  such 
teachers  as  shall  be  found  imqualified,  or  who  will  not 
conform  to  the  law.     (Id.  p.  40.) 

Sec.  8.  New-York. — The  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  may,  on  evidence  satisfactory  to  him,  grant 
State  certificates  and  revoke  the  same.  While  urn-evok- 
ed, a  State  certificate  shall  be  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  person  to  whom  it  was  granted  is  qualified  by  his 
moral  character,  learning,  and  ability  to  teach  any  com- 
mon school  in  the  State.  (School  Laws  of  N".  T.  1866, 
tit.  1,  p.  6,  sec.  15.)  Every  commissioner  shall  have 
power,  and  it  shall  be  his  duty,  to  examine  persons  pro- 
posing to  teach  common  schools  within  his  district  and 
not  possessing  the  Superintendent's  certificate  of  quali- 
fication, or  a  diploma  of  the  State  normal  school,  and 
to  inquii'e  into  their  moral  fitness  and  capacity.  (Id. 
p.  11,  sec.  5.)  The  Commissioner  shall  also  examine 
any  charge  afiecting  the  moral  character  of  any  teacher 
within  his  district,  first  giving  such  teacher  reasonable 
notice  of  the  charge,  and  an  opportunity  to  defend  him- 


144  THE  LAW  AS  TO  TEE 

self  therefrom;  and  if  lie  find  the  charge  sustained,  it  is 
his  duty  to  annul  the  teacher's  certificate,  by  wJiomsoever 
granted,  and  to  declare  him  tinfit  to  teach,  (Id.  sec.  7.) 
Under  the  old  system  of  licenses  by  town  superintendents, 
a  town  superintendent  in  one  case  refused  to  examine  a 
female  who  applied  for  examination  as  a  teacher,  on 
the  ground  that  her  moral  character  was  not  good ;  and 
his  refusal  to  examine  was  not  limited  merely  as  to 
moral  character,  but  also  as  to  her  learning  and  ability 
to  teach  a  common  school.  The  applicant  appealed  to 
the  State  superintendent,  who  examined  as  to  her  moral 
character,  and  decided  that  it  was  good  and  sufficient, 
and  he  directed  the  town  superintendent  to  examine  her 
in  relation  to  her  qualifications  as  a  teacher  of  common 
schools,  and  if  she  was  found  quaUfied  in  other  particu- 
lars than  that  of  moral  character,  that  he  should  license 
her  accordingly.  The  .town  suijerintendent  then  exam- 
ined her,  and  found  that  she  was  duly  qualified  as  to 
learning  and  ability  to  teach  a  common  school,  and  he 
offered  her  a  certificate  to  that  effect ;  but  he  declined 
to  certify  as  to  her  moral  character,  as  he  could  not  con- 
scientiously do  so.  The  Court  held  that  the  town  su- 
perintendent had  done  all  that  could  legally  be  required 
of  him.  (Peoples.  Masters,  21  Barb.  261.)  It  was  also 
held  in  the  same  case  that  by  the  appeal  the  question 
of  moral  character  Avas  disposed  of,  and  the  State  super- 
intendent's decision  on  that  question,  together  with  the 
town  superintendent's  certificate  of  learning  and  ability, 
would  entitle  the  applicant  to  teach.     The  State  super- 


TEACHERS  MORALITY.  145 

intendent's  authority  to  decide  such  questions  can  not 
be  disputed,  consequently  the  Court  could  not  have  held 
otherwise ;  but  we  have  always  thought  it  unfortunate 
that  the  State  superintendent  had  not  a  higher  appi-ecia- 
tion  of  what  is  for  the  true  interests  of  our  public  schools. 
Our  examiners  generally  require  too  little  evidence  as 
to  the  moral  character  of  candidates  for  certificates,  and 
such  decisions  must  have  a  tendency  to  make  them  re- 
quire still  less.  .  In  our  opinion,  school  teachers  should 
be  above  suspicion. 

"  Heaven  dotli  witli  us  as  we  with  torclies  do — 
Not  light  them  for  themselves  ;  for  if  our  \'lrtues 
Did  not  go  forth  of  us,  'ticere  all  alike 
As  if  we  had  them  not." 

Sec.  9.  N"ew-Jersey. — The  town  superintendents,  la 
their  examination  of  candidates  for  licenses  to  teach, 
are  required  particularly  to  have  regard  always  to  the 
moral  character  of  the  candidates.  (School  Laws  of 
N.  J.  1864,  p.  17,  sec.  34.)  The  law  requires  that  the 
superintendents  should  be  Avell  satisfied  not  only  with 
the  learning  of  each  ajjplicant  and  his  ability  to  teach, 
but  with  his  moral  chai-acter.  With  respect  to  learning 
and  ability  to  teach,  the  examiners  can  easily  satisfy 
themselves ;  but  as  to  moral  character  the  case  is  more 
difficult,  and  must,  in  jsl  great  measure,  depend  ujjon  tes- 
timony, either  verbal  or  written,  from  persons  known 
and  of  good  standing.  This  is  not  a  matter  to  be  passed 
over  slightly ;  it  is  of  equal  importance  that  our  teachers 


146  THE  LA  W  AS  TO  THE 

Bbould  possess  a  pure  moral  character  as  well  as  learn- 
ing and  ability  to  teach,  and  aj^plicants  for  license 
should  be  rejected  as  soon  for  the  want  of  the  former 
as  the  latter.  The  men  to  whose  guiding  care  is  com- 
mitted the  formation  of  the  innocent  and  plastic  mind 
of  childhood  should  themselves  be  pure.  They  should 
have  characters  to  insure  respect  and  confidence.  They 
should  not  only  point  out  the  path  of  duty  to  the  child- 
ren, but  walk  themselves  therein.  No  license  should  be 
given  without  entire  satisfaction  on  this  point.  At  the 
same  time  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  while  we  have 
a  right  to  examine  scrupulously  into  the  moral  charac- 
ter, we  have  none  whatever  to  interfere  with  their  I'elig- 
ious  views.  These  should  never  be  brought  in  question. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  political  opinions.  (Id.  p.  46.) 
Sec.  10.  Pennstlvaxia. — The  directors  may  dismiss 
the  teacher  at  any  time  for  immorality.  (School  Laws 
of  Pa.  1866,  sec.  63.)  If  the  teacher's  immorality  be- 
comes known  to  the  members  of  the  board  in  their  offi- 
cial capacity  while  visiting  the  school,  no  proof  is  re- 
quisite ;  and  the  teacher  may  at  once  be  dismissed. 
But  the  cause  of  the  dismissal  should  be  stated  on  the 
minutes.  (Id.  Dec.  168.)  If  the  facts  establishing  the 
teacher's  immorality  be  not  known  to  the  board  of  their 
own  knowledge,  but  charged  by  others  against  the 
teacher,  a  hearing  should  take  place,  and  a  full  investi- 
gation in  presence  of  tlie  tcaclier  be  granted,  with  rea- 
sonable notice  to  prepare  for  his  defense ;  and  the  result 
be  entered  in  the  minutes.     (Id.  Dec.  109.)     It  is  made 


TEACHER'S  MORALITY.  147 

the  duty  of  the  county  superintendents  to  examine  all 
candidates  for  the  profession  of  teacher.  (Id.  sec.  109.) 
Applicants  of  known  or  proved  immoral  habits  are  not 
to  be  examined  at  all,  no  matter  what  may  be  their  lit- 
erary or  professional  claims.  (Id.  Dec.  303.)  The 
board  of  directors  may  discharge  the  teacher  for  immo- 
rality, and  the  county  supei'intendent  for  the  same 
cause  may  and  should  annul  the  teacher's  certificate. 
But  there  should  be  a  charge  and  a  hearing  in  all  cases, 
unless  the  facts  are  personally  and  ofiicially  known  to 
the  superintendent.     (Id.  Dec.  305.) 

Sec.  11.  3Iakylaxd. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all 
teachers,  in  schools  of  every  grade,  to  impress  upon 
the  minds  of  youth  committed  to  their  instruction  the 
principles  of  piety  and  justice,  loyalty  and  sacred  re- 
gard for  truth,  love  of  their  country,  humanity  and  be- 
nevolence, sobriety,  industry,  and  chastity,  and  those 
virtues  which  are  the  basis  upon  whicli  a  republican 
constitution  is  founded;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
such  instructors  to  lead  their  pupils  into  a  clear  itnder- 
standing  of  the  tendency  of  these  virtues,  to  preserve 
the  blessings  of  liberty,  promote  temporal  happiness, 
and  advance  the  greatness  of  the  American  nation. 
(School  Laws  of  Md.  1865,  p.  18,  sec.  4.) 

"  Unblessed  by  virtue,  government  a  league 
Becomes,  a  circling  junto  of  the  great, 
To  rob  hy  law  ;  religion  mUd  a  roke 
To  tame  the  stooping  soul,  a  trick  of  state 
To  mask  their  rapine,  and  to  share  the  prey. 


148  THE  LAW  AS  TO   TEE 

What  are  witliout  it  senates,  save  a  face 
Of  consultation  deep  and  reason  free, 
While  the  determined  voice  and  heart  are  sold  1 
,     What  boasted  freedom  save  a  sounding  name  ? 
And  what  election  but  a  market  vile 
Of  slaves  self-bartered  f 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president  of  the  board  of 
school  commissioners  to  examine  all  candidates  for  the 
profession  of  teachers ;  but  "no  certificate  shall  be  grant- 
ed without  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  moral  character" 
of  the  applicant.  (School  Laws  of  Md.  1865,  ^.  24, 
sec.  1.)  Upon  the  teachers  a  solemn,  responsibility 
rests.  After  the  school  authorities  have  done  all  that 
devolves  uj^on  them,  the  full  success  of  the  work  de- 
pends upon  the  teachers.  Encourage  them  to  enter 
upon  their  work  as  a  sacred  mission.  They  deal  with 
the  tender  mind  and  conscience.  They  impart  ideas 
of  right  and  wrong  which  will  remain  through  life. 
Thoughts  impressed  in  early  childhood  are  never  erased. 
Habits  of  system,  neatness,  and  courtesy  may  be  formed 
at  school.  The  teacher  has  the  plastic  wax,  and  may 
mould  it  at  his  will.  Thus  the  daily  routine  duties  of 
class  and  school-room  work  give  the  teacher  power.  It 
is  the  province  of  the  commissioner  and  of  the  visitor 
to  see  that  so  great  power  be  exercised  for  the  great- 
est attainable  good.  Therefore  no  immorality  or  neg- 
ligence, or  even  rudeness,  is  to  be  tolerated.  The 
teacher  must  not  only  instruct  properly,  but  live  prop- 
erly.     In  school  and  out  of  school  the  example  must 


TEACHER'S  MORALITY.  149 

be  good,  that  the  diguity  of  the  Tocation  of  teaching 
may  be  preserved,  youth  trained  in  the  paths  of  virtue 
and  knowledge,  and  become  a  comfort  to  their  parents, 
a  credit  to  tlieir  preceptors,  and,  in  process  of  time,  an 
lionor  to  the  state.  (Hon.  L.  Van  Bokkelin,  State  Supt. 
Pub.  Inst,  for  Md.) 

Skc.  12.  WEST-ViEGnaA. — All  teachers,  boards  of 
education,  and  all  other  school  officers  created  by  this 
act  are  hereby  charged  v^-ith  the  duty  of  providing 
that  moral  training  for  the  youth  of  this  State  which 
shall  contribute  to  securing  good  behavior,  and.  to  fur- 
nishing the  State  with  exemplary  citizens.  (School 
Laws  of  W.  Ya.  1866,  p.  11,  sec.  29.)  The  county  super- 
intendent shall  examine  all  candidates  for  the  profes- 
sion of  teacher,  and  if  satisfied  of  the  competency  and 
capacity  of  the  applicant  to  teach  and  govern  the  school 
of  which  he  proposes  to  take  charge,  and  that  he  or  she 
is  of  good  moral  character^  a  certificate  may  be  granted, 
but  not  otherwise.  (Id.  p.  12,  sec.  32.)  In  order  to 
afford  encouragement  and  incentiA'^es  to  teachers  to  per- 
fect themselves  in  their  profession,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  secure  the  profession  from  the  intrusion  of  un- 
worthy members,  and  the  public  from  the  evils  of  in- 
competent teachers,  the  following  regulations  shall  be 
observed  by  county  superintendents  in  regard  to  exam- 
nations  and  granting  of  teachers'  certificates  :  First, 
No  applicant  shall  be  admitted  to  an  examination  un- 
less the  county  Superintendent  shall  have  reasonable 
evidence  that  he  or  she  is  of  good  moral  character,  and 


150  THE  LAW  AS  TO   THE 

loyal  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  the 
government  of  the  State  of  West-Virginia.  Prof^xnity, 
obscenity,  and  intemperate  habits  shall  always  be  held 
to  exclude  from  the  privilege  of  an  examination.  (Id. 
p.  14,  sec.  37.)  It  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  state  that 
a  teacher  of  immoral  habits,  if  there  be  any  such,  may 
lawfully  be  dismissed  in  this  State,  even  though  he  is  iu 
the  possession  of  a  certificate.  Nor  will  the  fact  that 
he  has  a  written  contract  to  teach  the  school  for  a  cer- 
tain fixed  period  of  time  make  any  difference.  The 
very  first  condition  of  the  teacher's  contract,  whether  it 
be  in  the  writing  or  not,  is  that  he  shall  be  and  remain 
of  good  moral  character  during  the  full  continuance  of 
his  term,  and  if  he  is  not  so,  and  does  not  remain  so,  he 
violates  his  contract,  and  can  expect  no  relief  from  the 
courts.  This  remark  is  true  generally,  and  will  apply 
with  equal  force  to  the  teachers  of  other  States  and 
their  contracts. 

Sec.  13.  Ohio. — No  person  shall  be  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  any  jorimary  common  school  \mless  such  per- 
son shall  have  first  obtained  from  the  examiners  a  cer- 
tificate of  good  moi*al  character,  etc.  (School  Laws  of 
Ohio,  18G5,  p.  69.)  And  if  at  any  time  the  reci2')icnt  of 
the  certificate  shall  be  found  incomi^etent  or  negligent, 
the  examiners,  or  any  two  of  them,  may  revoke  the  same, 
and  require  such  teacher  to  be  dismissed.  (Id.)  The 
power  to  revoke  a  certificate  when  the  recipient  is  found 
incompetent  or  negligent  is  not  restricted  to  the  persons 
who  issued  such  certificate.     The  evident  intention  of 


TEACHERS  MORALITY.  151 

the  law  is  to  guard  schools,  at  all  times,  against  unwor- 
thy teachers,  and,  to  this  end,  the  power  to  revoke  a 
certificate  is  vested  in  the  office  of  the  examiners,  and 
may,  at  any  time,  be  exercised  by  the  incumbents. 
Since  "a  good  moral  character"  is  a  legal  condition  of 
competency  in  the  teacher,  whenever  the  holder  of  a 
certificate  is  found  guilty  of  immoral  conduct,  such 
certificate  may  be  revoked.  Such  immoral  practices  as 
profanity,  gaming,  intemperance,  lewdness,  etc.,  utterly 
disqualify  a  person  for  the  duties  of  a  teacher.  (Id.  Of- 
ficial Opinion  No.  130.)  If  the  directors  of  any  sub- 
district  dismiss  any  teacher  for  any  frivolous  or  insufli- 
cient  reason,  such  teacher  may  bring  suit  against  such 
sub-district;  and  if,  on  the  trial  of  the  cause,  a  judg- 
ment be  obtained  against  the  sub-district,  the  direcfors 
thereof  shall  certify  to  the  clerk  of  the  board  the  sum 
80  found  due,  and  he  shall  issue  an  order  to  the  person 
entitled  thereto  upon  the  township  treasui-ei",  to  pay 
the  same  out  of  any  money  in  his  hands  belonging  to 
said  sub-district,  and  applicable  to  the  payment  of 
teachers.  In  such  suits,  process  may  be  served  on  the 
clerk  of  the  sub-district,  and  service  upon  him  sliall 
be  sufficient.  (School  Laws  of  Ohio,  1865,  p.  99, 
sec.  9.) 

Sec.  14.  Kentitckt. — The  law  of  this  State  merely  re- 
quires that  a  certificate  shall  not  be  granted  to  an  appli- 
cant "  of  known  bad  moral  character."  (School  Laws 
of  Ky.  1865,  ch.  196,  art.  7,  sec.  1.)  The  trustees  are 
authorized  to  remove  a  teacher  "for  good  cause."     (Id. 


152  THE  LAW  AS   TO   THE 

art.  6,  sec.  V.)     "We  think  there  can  be  no  question  as 
to  immorality  being  good  cause  for  removal. 

Sec.  15.  Michigan. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  in- 
spectors to  examine  all  persons  offering  themselves  as 
candidates  for  teachers  of  primary  schools,  in  their  re- 
spective townships,  in  regard  to  moral  character,  learn- 
ing, and  ability  to  teach  a  school.  (School  Laws  of 
Mich.  1864,  p.  90,  sec.  85.)  Inspectors  owe  it  to  the 
schools  to  refuse  a  certificate  to  any  teacher  who  is  a 
drunkard  or  gambler,  or  who  uses  jDrofane  language,  or 
indulges  in  any  other  gross  immorality.  N"o  excellence 
of  scholarship  or  experience  or  skill  in  teaching  can 
compensate  a  school  for  the  lack  of  moi'al  purity  and  in- 
tegi'ity  in  the  teacher.  The  law  has  wisely  made  a  good 
moral  character  a  requisite  for  a  qualified  teacher,  since 
it  is  on  the  viitue  as  well  as  on  the  intelligence  of  the 
people  that  the  safety  of  the  Republic  depends.  In  case 
the  candidate  is  a  stranger  to  the  inspectors,  they  may 
require  him  to  show  satisfactory  testimonials  of  his  good 
moral  character.  (Id.  p.  91,  Ofiicial  Opinion  No.  4.) 
Good  behavior  was  one  of  the  seven  studies  anciently 
prescribed  by  law  for  the  common  schools  of  Massachu- 
setts ;  and  certainly  this  was  not  the  least  im2)ortant  of 
the  list.  The  necessity  of  a  healthful  moral  influence  in 
our  schools  has  been  acknowledged  by  all  who  have 
sjDoken  or  written  concerning  them.  The  school  law  has 
always  demanded  that  the  teachers  shall  be  of  good 
moral  character.  The  safety  of  these  large  and  miscel- 
laneous gatherings  of  passionate  and  thoughtless  child- 


TEACHERS  3I0RALITT.  153 

ren  imperatively  requires  the  presence  of  some  power- 
ful, culturing,  and  controlling  moral  force,  watching  like 
a  Providence  over  them,  and  working  as  a  power  within 
them.  And  the  high  social  and  civil  aims  for  which  the 
public  schools  are  chiefly  maintained — the  maturing  of 
law-abiding  and  virtuous  citizenship — can  never  be  se- 
cured except  by  a  high-toned  and 'successful  education  of 
the  moral  nature.     (Id.  p.  178,  No.  10.) 

In  relation  to  the  moral  character  of  the  teacher  much 
is  left  to  the  discrimination  of  the  examining  officer. 
He  must  be  satisfied  that  it  is  good,  because  he  has  to 
certify  to  its  correctness.  On  this  point  what  would  be 
satisfactory  to  one  man  might  be  unsatisfactory  to  an- 
other. Every  person  lias  a  right  to  the  enjpyment  of  his 
own  religious  belief  without  molestation ;  and  the  exam- 
ining officer  should  content  himself  with  inquiries  as  to 
the  moral  character  of  the  teacher,  leaving  him  to  the 
same  liberal  enjoyment  of  his  religious  belief  that  he  asks 
for  himself  If,  however,  a  person  openly  derides  all  re- 
ligion, he  ought  not  to  be  a  teacher  of  youth.  The  em- 
ployment of  such  a  person  would  be  considered  a  griev- 
ance by  a  great  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  dis- 
tricts.    (Id.  p.  IGl.) 

Sec.  16.  L^mAXA. — This  is  the  State  which  has  won 
an  unenviable  fame  on  account  of  the  singularly  "  ready 
relief"  that  unhappily  matched  coujDles  have  from  time 
immemorial  found  there.  We  think  that  the  school 
laAvs  of  Indiana  are  as  worthy  of  universal  fame  as  her 
divorce  laws.     "  At  any  time  after  the  commencement 


154  TRJELAWAS  TO  TRE 

of  any  school,  if  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  district 
IDetition  the  trustee  that  they  wish  the  teacher  thereof  dis- 
missed, such  trustee  shall  dismiss  such  teacher.''''  (School 
Laws  of  Ind.  1865,  p.  112,  sec.  28.)  It  was  hardly  ne- 
cessary to  add  that  the  dismissal  could  be  lawful  "  only 
upon  due  notice  and  upon  good  cause  shown."  If  Ave  are 
not  greatly  in  error,  the  divorce  laws  of  this  State  always 
required  that  the  parties  should  not  be  relieved  from 
their  embarrassment,  except  "upon  due  notice  and  upon 
good  cause  shown."  We  have  always  heard  that  a  very 
slight  cause  would  be  pronounced  "  good"  by  an  Indiana 
court.  "  The  trustee  shall  not  employ  any  teacher  whom 
a  majority  of  those  entitled  to  vote  at  school  meetings 
have  decided  they  do  not  wish  employed."  (lb.)  This 
whole  section  is  remarkable  and  altogether  peculiar. 
"Applicants,  before  being  licensed,  shall  produce  to  the 
examiners  the  proper  trustees'  certificate,  or  other  satis- 
factory evidence  of  good  moral  character."  (lb.  p.  13, 
sec.  34.)  HoAV  much  evidence  or  what  kind  of  evidence 
is  satisfactory  to  an  Indiana  official  or  an  Indiana  court  ? 
"I  have  but  one  lamp  by  which  my  feet  are  guided,  and 
that  is  the  lamp  of  experience.  I  know  of  no  way  of 
judging  of  the  future,  but  by  the  past."  (Patrick 
HenrJ^) 

Sec.  17.  Illinois. — No  teacher  shall  be  authorized 
to  teach  a  common  school  avIio  is  not  of  good  morai 
character.  (Amended  School  Laws  of  111.  1805,  p.  28, 
sec.  50.)  Every  certificate  issued  to  one  who  is  un- 
worthy, either  mentally  or  morally,  to  receive  it,  is  not 


TEACHER'S  MORALITY.  155 

only  a  violation  of  la\v,  but  is  a  direct  blow  at  the  heart 
of  our  common  schools.  Such  a  certificate  is  an  ofiicial 
license,  not  to  elevate  and  bless,  but  to  injure  and  de- 
grade, and,  it  may  be,  to  contaminate  and  curse  the 
schools  and  the  community.'  Good  schools  cannot  be 
taught  by  incompetent  teacliers;  the  moral  atmosphere 
of  the  schools  can  not  be  kept  pure  by  profane  or  irrev- 
erent teachers.  If  an  "  undevout  astronomer  is  mad," 
an  atheistic  and  immoral  instructor  of  youth  is  a  monster. 
It  is  by  no  means  a  self-evident  truth  that  poor  schools 
are  better  than  none ;  they  may  be  so  poor  as  to  be 
a  great  deal  worse  than  none.  (Id.  p.  115.)  In  our  efibrt  to 
escape  from  the  imagi/iary  danger  of  Puritan  rigor,  we 
have  drifted  steadily  toward  the  real  peril  of  unbridled 
license.  Where  is  the  simple  truthfulness  that  should 
make  beautiful  the  lives  of  our  children  ?  "What  preco- 
ciousness  in  vice,  what  defiant  spurning  of  moral  re- 
straints, do  we  find  at  the  fireside  and  in  the  school- 
room ?  Wliat  eye  now  moistens  at  the  touching  story 
of  George  "Washington  and  his  little  hatchet  ?  "What 
are  our  public  schools  doing  to  arrest  this  destructive 
tendency  ?  Are  educational  men  sensible  of  their  re- 
si^onsibility  in  this  matter  ?  Can  that  culture  be  com- 
plete, can  it  be  safe,  Avhich  ignores  the  moral  nature  ? 
Is  it  not  practicable  to  bring  the  school  children  of  the 
State  more  directly  and  powerfully  under  the  influence 
of  right  moral  ideas  and  principles  ?  Is  it  not  a  neces- 
sity? Have  Ave  any  security  at  all,  without  this,  that 
they  will  become  upright  and  virtuous  citizens  ?     Let 


156  THE  LAW  AS  TO  THE 

it  not  be  said  that  what  is  here  recommended  would 
conflict  with  the  undoubted  right  of  each  individual  to 
prescribe  what  sentiments  shall  be  imparted  to  his  child- 
ren in  matters  of  religious  faith,  Nothing  sectarian 
should  find  a  place  in  the  instruction  of  our  public 
schools.  But  the  moral  and  preceptive  parts  of  the 
gospels  are  7iot  sectarian.  If  they  are,  then  charity 
is  sectarian,  forgiveness  is  sectarian,  purity  is  sectarian, 
forbearance  is  sectarian,  all  things  lovely  and  of  good 
report  are  sectarian,  and  nothing  is  left  for  humanity 
at  large  but  the  devil.  In  all  our  public  schools  the 
jtrinciples  of  morality  should  be  cojiiously  intermingled 
with  the  principles  of  science.  Cases  of  conscience  should 
alternate  with  lessons  in  the  rudiments.  The  multij^lica- 
tion-table  should  not  be  more  flimiliar  nor  more  frequently 
applied  than  the  rule,  "Do  unto  others  as  you  would 
that  they  should  do  unto  you."  The  lives  of  great  and 
good  men  should  be  held  up  for  admiration  and  example. 
It  should  be  proclaimed  in  every  school  that  there 
are  original,  immutable,  and  indestructible  maxims  of 
moral  rectitude — great  lights  in  the  firmament  of  the 
soul — which  no  circumstances  can  affect,  no  sophistry 
obliterate.  That  to  this  eternal  standard  every  individ- 
ual of  the  race  is  bound  to  conform,  and  that  by  it  the 
conduct  of  every  man  shall  be  adjudged.  It  should  be 
proclaimed  that  dishonesty,  fraud,  and  falsehood  are  as 
despicable  and  criminal  in  the  most  exalted  stations  as 
in  the  most  obscure,  in  politics  as  in  business.  That 
the  demagogue  who  tells  a  lie  to  gain  a  vote  is  as  infi- 


TEACHERS  MORALITY.  157 

mons  as  the  peddler  who  tells  one  to  gain  a  penny. 
That  an  editor  who  wantonlj^  maligns  an  opponent  for 
the  benefit  of  his  party  is  as  vile  as  the  perjured  hire- 
lino-  who  slanders  his  neighbor  for  pay.  That  the  cor- 
poration or  the  man  who  spawns  by  the  thousand  his 
worthless  promises-to-pay,  under  the  name  of  banking, 
knowing  them  to  be  worthless,  is  as  guilty  of  obtain- 
ing money  under  false  pretenses,  as  the  acknowledged 
rogue  who  is  incarcerated  for  the  same  thing  under  the 
name  of  swindling.  That  the  contractor  who  defrauds 
the  government  imder  cover  of  the  technicalities  of 
the  law  is  as  much  a  thief  as  he  who  deliberately  and 
knowingly  appropriates  to  his  own  use  the  property  of 
another. 

In  a  word,  let  it  be  impressed  in  all  our  schools  that 
the  vocabulary  of  heaven  has  but  one  icord  for  each 
willful  infraction  of  the  moral  code,  and  that  no  pre- 
texts or  subterfuges  or  sophistries  of  men  can  soften  the 
import  or  lesson  the  guilt  which  that  word  conveys. 
Tell  the  school  children  that  the  deliberate  falsifier  of  the 
truth  is  a  liar;  whether  it  be  the  prince  on  his  throne  or 
the  beggar  on  his  dunghill ;  whether  it  be  by  diploma- 
tists, for  reason  of  state,  or  by  chiffonniers^  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  rags  in  the  gutter.  Tell  them  that  he 
who  obtains  money  or  goods  under  false  pretenses  is  a 
swindler,  no  more  or  less,  be  the  man  and  the  circum- 
stances what  they  may.  Tell  them  that  he  who  irrev- 
erently uses  the  name  of  Deity  is  a  blasphemer,  whether 
he  be  a  congi*essman  or  a  scullion.     Tell  them  that  ho 


158  THE  LAW  AS  TO  THE 

who  habitually  drinks  intoxicating  liquors  to  excess  is  a 
drunkard,  whetbei*  it  be  from  goblets  of  gold  in  the 
palatial  saloon,  or  from  tin  cups  in  a  grog-shop.  Tell 
them  that  he  who  speaks  lightly  or  sneeringly  of  the 
honor  of  woman  is  a  calumniator,  be  his  pretensions  to 
gentility  what  they  may.  And  so  with  the  whole  cata- 
logue of  vices  and  crimes,  till  the  line  of  demarkation  be- 
tween good  and  evil  shall  be  graven  so  deeply  upon  the 
mind  and  conscience  that  it  can  never  be  obliterated. 

Let  ovir  public  schools  do  this,  and  the  life-giving  in- 
fluence shall  be  felt  through  every  vein  and  artery  of 
the  body  politic.  A  divine  fire  Avill  be  kindled  that 
shall  jjurge  the  foul  channels  of  business,  finance,  and 
politics,  and  consume  the  subtle  network  of  sophistries 
like  stubble.  Let  our  public  schools  do  this,  and  a  gen- 
eration of  men  shall  come  upon  the  field  of  active  life 
who  will  bring  back  in  the  administration  of  public  and 
private  afiliii's  the  purer  days  of  the  Republic — men  in 
whom  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  the  frauds  and 
peculations  which  now  disgrace  and  ruin  the  country, 
sliall  be  unknown.  (Hon.  IST.  Bateman's  Fourth  Bien- 
nial Rep.  p.  120.) 

Sec.  18.  Wisconsin. — Every  applicant  for  a  situation 
as  a  teacher  in  any  of  the  common  schools  of  this  State 
shall  be  examined  by  the  county  superintendent  of 
schools  of  his  county  in  regard  to  moral  character, 
learning,  and  ability  to  teach,  and  if  found  qualified 
shall  receive  a  certificate  as  hereinafter  provided. 
(Wisconsin  School  Code,  1863,  p.  40,  sec.  100.) 


TEACHER'S  MORALITY.  159 

Through  no  one  channel  does  the  teacher  more  forci- 
bly impress  himself  upon  the  school  than  through  his 
moral  influence,  and  this  embraces  all  that  power  spring- 
ing from  personal  habits  of  thought,  word,  and  action. 
That  this  moral  influence  be  of  the  right  stamp  is  of 
vital  importance.  The  superintendent  has  by  law  con- 
trol of  these  streams  of  influence.  He  can  not  too  care- 
fully test  their  qualities.  A  full  appreciation  of  the  re- 
sponsibility resting  upon  him  in  this  regard  can  be  felt 
only  by  one  who  has  within  himself  a  sincere  love  of 
right  conduct  and  of  virtue. 

Terrible,  indeed,  must  be  the  consequences  if  he  who 
stands  sentinel  at  the  fountain  himself  poisons  the 
streams  flowing  from  it.  Scarcely  less  terrible  if 
through  negligence  or  carelessness  he  allows  others  to 
corrupt  them.     (Id.  ^.  91.) 

Sec.  19.  MixxEsoTA. — To  such  persons  who  appear 
upon  examination  to  be  well  qualified  to  teach  the"  I'e- 
quired  branches,  and  can  give  satisfactory  evidence  of 
good  moral  character,  the  examiner  shall  grant  his 
certificate  and  license  to  teach.  (Minn.  School  Code, 
1864,  p.  11,  sec.  29.)  Such  examiner  may  cite  to  reex- 
amination any  person  holding  a  license,  and  under  con- 
tract to  teach  any  common  school  in  his  commissioner" 
district;  and  being  satisfied  upon  such  reexamination, 
or  otherwise,  that  such  person  is  not  of  good  moral 
charactei",  he  may  revoke  such  license ;  and  from  the 
time  the  notice  of  such  revocation  is  filed  in  the  ofiice 
of  the  district  clerk  the  teacher's  contract  shall  become 


160  THE  LAW  AS  TO  TEE 

void,  and  the  said  teacher's  wages  shall  cease.  (Id. 
sec,  30.) 

Sec.  20.  Iowa. — ^If  the  examination  is  satisfactory,  and 
the  superintendent  is  satisfied  the  respective  applicants 
possess  a  good  moral  character,  he  shall  give  them  a 
certificate.  (School  Laws  of  Iowa,  1864,  p.  17,  sec.  65.) 
The  sui^erintendent  may  revoke  the  certificate  of  any 
teacher  in  tlie  county,  which  was  given  by  the  superin- 
tendent thereof,  for  any  reasons  which  would  have  jus- 
tified the  withholding  thereof  when  the  same  Avas  given. 
(Id.  sec.  69.) 

Sec.  21.  Missouei. — The  law  on  this  subject  is  not 
unlike  the  law  in  Illinois ;  but  we  are  unable  to  cite  it, 
as  the  copy  of  the  late  law  which  we  have  at  hand  does 
not  seem  to  be  perfect. 

Sec.  22.  Kansas. — The  usual  requirement  as  to  a  good 
moral  character  has  been  incorporated  into  the  laws  of 
this  State.    (School  Laws  of  Kansas,  18  35,  p,  16,  sec.  14.) 

Sec.  23.  California. — The  county  board  shall  have 
power,  without  examination,  to  renew  certificates,  and 
to  revoke,  for  immoral  or  unprofessional  conduct,  or 
habitual  profanity,  intemperance,  cruelty,  or  evident 
unfitness  for  the  profession  of  teaching,  any  county  cer- 
tificate. (School  Laws  of  Cal.  1866,  sec.  92.)  It  shall 
be  the  duty  of  all  teachers  to  endeavor  to  impress  on 
the  minds  of  their  pupils  the  principles  of  morality, 
truth,  justice,  and  patriotism ;  to  teach  them  to  avoid 
idleness,  profanity,  and  falsehood ;  and  to  instruct  them 
in  the  principles  of  a  free  government,  and  to  train  them 


TEACHER'S  MORALITY.  161 

up  to  a  true  comprehension  of  the  rights,  duties,  and 
dignity  of  American  citizenship.  (Id.  sec.  70.)  Instruc- 
tion shall  be  given  in  all  grades  of  schools,  and  in  all 
classes,  during  the  entire  school  course,  in  7ncmners  and 
morals^  and  the  laws  of  health.     (Id.  sec.  55.) 

"  All  private  virtue  is  the  public  fund  ; 
As  that  abounds,  the  state  decays  or  thrives  ; 
Each  should  contribute  to  the  general  stock, 
And  who  lends  most  is  most  his  covmtry's  friend." 


The  American  Ediicatioiial  Moiitlily. 


DEVOTED    TO 


gaimtav  fu.iiitvu^tion  and  '^Wmim, 

CONTENTS  FOR  JANTJARY,  1867. 
L   Scbools  and  Teachers  iu  Germany,  with  a  lively  iUustration: 

"Z\}t  (§txnmn  idjoolmaster  oix  %}AV-^'^n-" 

n    John  Bovd  a  Story  of  School  Life,  by  Wm.  W.  Tcfts. 
iS:   SlSfects  i"Eaucation,byDr.HooKEn,of  ^aloCoUege. 
IV    Peduso-ical  Law-Tl.e  Law  as  to  Teachers  Morals,  bj  M.  Mcx^. 

Walsh,  Esq.,  of  the  New-York  Bar. 
V.    Culture  of  the  Imagination. 
YI    The  Prize  Poem,  a  l)ialo-ue,  by  Whitte  More. 
YIL   Oceanic  Phenomena,  by  J.  J.  Stevexson. 
VIII.   Respect  Due  to  Pupils. 
IX.   A  Rare  Case  of  Courage. 
X.    "  Out  of  School." 
XI.   New  Music  Book  needed. 

^IL   "HavrweT Standard  of  EngliA  Pronunciation?"  by  D.  H. 

Crcttexden. 
XrV    Letter  from  Oregon,  by  Alphonso  Wood. 
XV'.    An  Advocate  for  Flogging  in  School.  ,        c„„ti,  An.n 

:^I    Educational  Intelligence  in  United  States,  Mexico,  Sou  h- Ame- 
rica. Great  Britain,  France,  Prussia,  Austria,  Austraha. 
XVII.   List  of  Superintendents  of  Public  Instrucdou  in  the  Lnited 

States. 
WTTT    Tleviews  of  New  Books :  , .,    „ 

X\  lii.    lie^^e^»  o  ^^^^  ^^_^^^  ^.^.^^  ^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^'^^J^Tt' 

The  Metric  Svstem,  Superstition  a.i.l  Force,  L.teiature  and  Ait, 
The  Great  Rebellion,  Aids  to  School  DiscipUue. 
XIX.   What  is  New  in  Science  and  the  Arts. 
XX."   New  Inventions  for  Schools.  ,-„•.• 

XXI    Bulletin  of  Teachers  who  are  Candidates  for  Positions 
^11.    Descriptions  and  Price  Lists  of  School  Books,  and  all  Articles 
for  use  in  Schools. 

Price,  $1.50   per  Annum.     Specimens  by   Mail,   prepaid,  15  cenis. 

CLUB   RATES   ARE   LIBERAL. 

Teachers  and  Cleraymen  ma>,  obtain,  in  "•^'^^'""f^,^"'- ^^  J'^^VrTc 
in  the  EJucational  field,  a  copy  of  WEIiSTEJVS  JtOTAZ 
QUAJilO    DICTIONAMY,  price  $1^. 

J.    W.    SCHERMERHORN    &    CO., 

430  Broome  Street,  New-York. 


ti 


American  School  Institute," 

Founded    18  55, 

IS    A    RELIABLE    EDUCATIONAL    BUREAU: 


1.  To  aid  all  who  seek  well-qualified 

Teachers. 

2.  To    represent  Teachers   who    de- 

sire Positions. 


3.  To    give    Parents    Information    of 
good   Schools. 

4.  To    Sell,     Rent,     and     Exchange 
School    Properties. 

J.  W.  SCHERMERHORN,  A.M.,  Actuary,  430  Broome  St.,  (near  Broadway,) New- York. 

M.  J.  YOUNG,  Secretary.  G.  M.  KENDALL,  Treasurer. 

BR,A.]S"CII    OFFICES: 

PniLADELPHIA,  512  Arch  St., J.  K.  6AUT,  A.M.,  Secretary. 

CHICAGO,  6  Custom  House  Place, EDWARD  SPEAKMAN,  Secretary. 

SAVANNAH   Geor-ia  ■!  GENERAL  HENRY  C.  WAYNE,*Director. 

bAVAIN.NAn,  O-eorgia, -j  j^^^^^  q_  FERRILL,  Secretary. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  California, SAMUEL  J.  C.  SWEZEY,  Esq.,  Secretary. 


Twelve  years' trial  has  proved  the  "American  Scuool  Institute  "a  useful  and 
efficient  auxiliary  in  the  Educational  Machinery  of  our  country.  Its  patrons  and 
friends  are  among  the  first  educational  and  business  men.  The  central  office  (in 
New-York)  has  been  removed  to  larger  quarters,  where  greater  facilities  will  be 
afforded  in  extending  its  usefulness. 

"  TJte  JllfjM   Teacher  for  tlie  JtU/7it  Place." 

Information  of  teachers  will  be  furnished,  which  shall  embrace — Opportunities  for 
education  ;  special  qualification  for  teaching  ;  experience,  where,  and  in  what  grade 
of  scliools  ;  references  ;  age ;  religious  preferences  ;  salary  expected  ;  specimens  of 
candidate's  letter,  and  sometimes  a  photographic  lilieness.  Unless  otherwise  ad- 
vised, we  nominate  several  candidates,  and  thus  give  opportunity  for  good  selection. 

P«T^  Principals,  School  Officers,  and  Heads  of  Families  should  give  early  notice 
of  what  Teachers  they  may  want.     Full  particulars  should  be  given. 

Teachers  who  want  positions  should  send  for  "  Application  Form." 


Testimony  for  the  "  American  School  Institute." 

I  knoiD  your  "American  ScnooL  Institute  "  to  be  possessed  of  the  tnost  reliable 
and  extended  facilities. — Rev.  C.  V.  Spear,  Principal  Young  Ladies^  Institute, 
Pittsfleld,  Mass. 

The  benefits  of  a  "  division  of  labor"  are  happily  conceived  and  admirably  real- 
ized in  the  "American  School  Institute." — Edward  G.  Tyler,  Ontario  Female 
Se7ninarri,  N.  Y. 

Experience  has  taught  me  that  I  may  safely  rely  upon  it  when  I  want  teachers. — 
Rev.  J.  H.  Brakelet,  Bordentown  Female.  Coller/e,  J^"ew-Jer.9e>/. 

I  commend  it  to  the  entire  confidence  of  all. — Rev.  D.  C.  Van  Norman,  LL.D., 
JVew-York. 

The  business  of  the  Institute  is  systematically  conducted.  The  proprietors  are 
liberally  educated  and  otherwise  eminently  qualified  for  their  duties. — 0.  R.  AVillis, 
Principal  Alexander  Institute,  White  Plains,  N.  Y. 

I  am  very  grateful  for  the  prompt  services  which  the  "American  School  Insti- 
tute "  has  rendered  in  supplying  n,ie  with  excellent  teachers. — Rev.  C.  W.  Hewes, 
Female  Seminary,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

I  have  tried  the  "American  School  Institute,"  and  regard  it  a  most  desirable 
medium  for  supplying  our  schools  and  seminaries  with  tlie  best  teachers,  and  for 
representing  well-qualified  teachers  who  wish  employment.  All  who  are  seeking 
teachers  will  find  a  wide  range  from  whicli  to  select,  with  an  assurance,  that  in  stat- 
ing character  and  qualifications,  tliere  is  no  "  humbug,"  and  there  can  Ije  no  tnis- 
take.  Teachers  will  find  situations  for  which  they  may  otherwise  seek  in  vain. 
The  highly  respectable  character  of  the  gentlemen  who  conduct  the  "  Institute  " 
affords  a  sufficient  guarantee,  not  only  of  fair  dealing,  but  also  of  kind  and  polite 
treatment  to  all. — Rev.  Ebkn  S.  Stearns,  Principal  Albanij  Female  Academy,  N.  Y, 

Circulars  explaining  plan  and  terms  sent  xvhen  applied  for, 

J.  W.  SCHERMEKHORIT,  A.M.,  Actuary,  430  Broomo  St.,  New-York. 


USEFUL,  BEAUTIFUL, 
HEALTH-BEGUILIRG  BOOKS. 


I.  WATSON'S  MANUAL  OF  CALISTHENICS, $1  25 

XL  nAND-BOOK  OF  CALISTHENICS  AND  GYMNASTICS, 2  00 

i^~  Sent  toy  mail,  prepaid,  on  receipt  of  tlie  price. 

Each  volume  is  an  8vo,  printed  on  fine  and  heavy  tinted  paper,  richly  and  pro. 
fusely  illustrated  from  original  designs,  with  music  to  accompany  the  exercises. 
These  works  positively  surpass  all  others  on  physical  culture,  in  harmoniously 
blending  the  scientific  and  the  practical  in  the  variety  and  completeness  of  the 
classes  of  movements,  and  in  the  adaptation  of  the  exercises  to  the  wants  of  both 
sexes  and  persons  of  all  ages.  In  the  first,  all  the  exercises  are  without  apparatus ; 
in  the  second,  complete  courses  of  exercises  are  given  both  with  and  without  ap- 
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excellent  life-infusing  games  and  sports  ever  known. 

To  consumptives,  dyspeptics,  invalids  in  general,  and  the  sedentary,  to  all  who 
wish  to  secure  physical  beauty,  muscular  strength  and  rol;«st  health,  the  use  of 
these  books  will  prove  invaluable.  It  is  when  health  is  lost  or  impaired  that  one 
can  sympathize  with  the  assertion  of  Professor  Kloss,  that  "  He  who  has  it  has  all 
things;  he  who  lacks  it  has  nothing." 

These  books  are  superbly  bound,  and  will  grace  any  library  or  table. 

The  work  is  the  most  complete  and  elaborate. — iV.  Y.  livening  Post. 

Every  person  not  accustomed  to  daily  manual  labor  in  the  open  air,  ought  to 
pursue  this  system  of  exercise.  The  health  of  the  whole  community  would  be  pro- 
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A  volume  both  valuable  and  beautiful ;  it  surpasses  all  its  predecessors. — The 
Independent. 

It  teaches  the  best  means  of  educating  the  human  body  simultaneously  with  the 
human  mind. —  The  Albion. 

It  is  very  comprehensive  in  its  character,  embracing  several  topics  which  have 
never  before  been  included  in  one  treatise.  The  subject  is  treated  in  a  most  careful 
and  exact  form,  and  illustrated  in  a  style  which  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired. — 
Sunday-School  Times. 

To  those  in  authority,  whose  Influence  would  be  effectual  in  promoting  the  cir- 
culation of  this  book,  it  becomes  a  positive  duty  so  to  do  by  every  means  in  their 
power.  All  who  have  the  physical  welfare  of  the  human  race  at  heart,  and  under- 
stand how  powerless  the  intellect  is  to  contend  against  the  burden  of  a  feeble  and 
emaciated  frame,  are  equally  interested  in  its  teachings,  and  answerable,  each  in 
his  own  sphere,  however  small  it  may  be,  for  the  consequences  of  neglecting  them.^ 
New-  York  Daily  Times. 

Truly  a  book  that  every  family  should  have.  The  whole  subject  of  thorough 
bodily  exercise  is  made  as  attractive  as  it  is  important. — Ilarper^s  Weekly. 

The  book  can  not  be  too  highly  recommended. — Home  Journal. 

We  practiced  these  exercises  to  recover  health ;  we  advise  others  to  practice  them 
to  keep  it.  .  .  .  These  books  are  a  credit  to  the  American  press. — London, 
Reader. 

J.  W.  SCHERMERHORN  k  CO.,  Publishers, 

430  Broome  Street,  New- York. 


EUREKA  LIQUID  SLATING. 

{A[unge7'^s  Invention.    J.  W.  Schermerhorn  &  Co.,  Manufacturers^ 

Makes  a  Surface  wMch  Eivals  the  Best  Wall  Slates. 

It  is  perfectly  Black )  never  Crumljles ;  always  remains  Hard  and  Smooth. 

It  is  successfully  applied  to  any  kind  of  board  or  wall,  and  is  invaluable  in  reno- 
Tating  old  woodpn  blackboards.  It  lias  been  used  twelve  years  in  some  of  the  best 
schools  of  New-Kngland.  The  surface  is  as  smooth  and  perfect  now  as  wlien  applied. 
This  proves  its  durability.     It  is  put  up  in  tin  cans,  and  sent  safely  by  Express. 

By  following  directions,  any  teacher  may  easily  apply  the  Eureka  Slating,  and 
make  a  perfect  slate  surface,  wonderful  in  color,  smoothness,  and  durability. 

PRICE,  S1.75  PER  PINT ;  %Z  PER  QUART, 

5  per  cent  discount  on  five  gallons,  and  10  per  cent  on  ten  gallons  or  more. 

One  pint  will  cover  about  30  square  feet;  hence  it  makes  a  cheap  blackboard.  In 
Chicago,  New-York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  vicinities,  we  will  apply  it  at  ten  cents 
per  square  foot. 

^W"  Do  not  confound  EUREKA  LIQUID  SLATING  with  slating  known  by  other 
names,  or  manufactured  by  other  persons,  for  it  has  its  imitations.  But  no  other 
slating  can  produce  Wxe  perfectly  smooth  dead-black  surface  of  the  EUREKA. 

Prominent  teachers  and  school  officers  in  every  part  of  the  country  have  so  thor- 
oughly tested  the  EUREKA  SLATING,  that  we  do  not  hesitate  to  warrant  it. 


TESTIMONY   FOR   THE   EUKEKA    SS^ATING. 

Office  op  Sdpf.rintendent  of  Pcblic  Schools,  Buffalo,  July  ,5,  1S6G. 
Three  years  ago  "  Eureka  Slating"  was  applied  to  l)Iackboards  in  our  public  schools. 
They  are  now  in  fine  condition,  and  do  not  seem  worn  in  the  least  by  constant  use. 
I  recommend  this  Slating  to  teachers  and  school  otScers. 

JOHN  S.  FOSDICK,  Superintendent. 

Galesburg,  III.,  April  12, 1866. 
I  have  used  "  Liquid  Slating"  to  restore  old  and  to  make  new  blackboards,  as  I  visit 
the  schools  of  my  county.    In  every  case  it  gives  perfect  satisfaction.     I  shall  con- 
tinue its  use,  believing  it  to  be  the  best  preparation  made  for  blackboard  purposes. 
J.  H.  KNAPP,  Co.  Supt.  Of  Schools,  Knox  Co.,  111. 

I  take  pleasure  in  recommending  the  "  Eureka  Slating"  whenever  an  opportunity 
offers.  NEWTON  BATEMAN,  State  Supt.  Public  Instruction,  Illinois. 

The  Eureka  Liquid  Slating  will  always  give  satisfaction  when  properly  applied. 
JOHN  D.  PHILBRICK,  Supt.  Public  Schools,  Boston,  Mass. 

New-IIaven,  Ct.,  April  2-3,  1866. 
I  have  used  it  nine  years,  and  it  seems  to  improve.     From  my  own  experience  I 
tliink  it  will  last  fifty  years.  E.  BOBBINS. 

Minnesota  State  Normal  School,  Winona,  March  13,  1SG6. 
Our  blackboards  are  finished  with  "  Eureka  Slating."     When  properly  applied  it 
leaves  notliing  to  be  desired.     It  is  equal  to  the  best  Vermont  and  Lehigh  Slates, 
besides  being  cheaper.     I  recommend  it  to  the  teachers  of  the  North-West. 

WM.  r.  PlIIOLPS,  Principal. 

N.  Y.  State  Normal  School,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  June  22, 1866. 
I  recommend  "  Eureka  Slating,"  having  found  it  durable  and  cheap. 

OLIVER  AREY,  Principal. 

Albion  Commercial  College,  Michigan,  May  8, 1864. 
We  find  "  Eureka  Slating"  surface  equal  to  the  best  stone  slates. 

(Hon.)  IRA  MAYHEW,  President. 

J.  W.  SCHERMERHORN  k  CO.,  Manufacturers, 

430  Broome  Street,  New- York. 


THE 


FOR   THE 

USE  OF  ALL  WHO  GO  TO  SCHOOL. 


BT  x::nT:RT  f.  strong. 


This  little  book  is  designed  to  exercise  the  young  in  the  import- 
ant practice  of  making  a  daily  record  of  items  and  events.  It  will  help 
to  cultivate  and  strengthen  habits  of  observation  .and  accuracy ;  and 
these  habits,  formed  in  youth,  will  have  a  favorable  influence  in  subse- 
quent Ufe.  Such  a  record,  faithfully  kept,  will  prove  a  history  of  the 
writer's  life,  and  its  value  will  increase  with  passing  years.  If  persons 
now  in  active  life  were  in  possession  of  a  manuscript  diary  of  their 
Bchool-days,  they  would  esteem  it  a  treasure  indeed. 

The  Scholar's  Diary  contains : 

L  Specimen  pages  of  a  diary,  which  will  suggest  the  manner  of 
making  the  daily  entries. 

II.  Rules  and  maxims  for  pupils. 

in.  Subjects  for  Compositions,  with  simple  suggefltiona. 
IV.  Rules  for  the  use  of  Capital  letters. 

V.  Rules  for  Punctuation. 

VI.  Blank  pages  for  making  the  daily  entries  of  an  ordinary  school 
term. 

In  some  cases  it  will  be  found  sufficient  for  preserving  copies  of 
the  c«mpositions  written  during  the  term. 

Price  of  the  Scholar's  Diary,  per  dozen,  $2.50.  Specimen  copies 
Bent  by  mail,  prepaid,  for  20  cents, 

J.  W.  SCHERMERHORN  &  Co.,  Publishers. 

11  430  Broome  Street,  New- York. 


"Aids  to  School  Discipline." 

REWARDS  REDUCED  TO  A  USEFUL  AND  PERFECT  SYSTEM. 


The  good  effect  of  an  accurate  register  of  deportment  and  scholar- 
ship in  promoting  a  wholesome  spirit  of  emulation  and  scholarly  pride 
is  acknowledged  by  all.  Yet  such  a  register  is  rarely  kept.  Teachers 
generally  have  not  time  to  record  each  recitation  as  it  occurs.  Other 
duties  crowd  upon  them  so  that  the  record  must  be  neglected  for  the 
time,  and  afterward  made  up  from  memory.  Perfect  accuracy  being 
impossible  in  such  cases,  confidence  in  the  record  is  weakened,  and  its 
moral  force,  in  a  great  degree,  lost. 

The  Aids  secure  the  good  results  of  accurate  records  and  reports, 
with  less  expense  of  time  and  labor,  and  also  an  active  parental  in. 
terest  naturally  awakened  by  a  system  of  daily  reports. 

The  Aids  may  be  used  in  various  ways.  The  following  is  convenient : 
In  the  morning  give  each  pupil  a  card,  (five  merits  representing  a  per- 
fect day,)  to  be  forfeited  for  misdemeanor,  or  failure  in  recitation. 
Single  Merits  and  Half  Merits  are  for  pupils  who  fail  to  retain  their 
CARDS  and  yet. are  worthy  of  some  credit.  Five  cards  held  by  any  pupil 
are  exchanged  for  a  check,  (twenty-five  Merits,)  representing  a  perfect 
School  Week.  Four  Checks  are  exchanged  for  a  Certificate  op  Merit, 
reiDresenting  one  hundred  Merits,  or  a  perfect  Month.  These  Certificates 
bear  the  pupil's  name  and  are  signed  by  the  teacher.  The  number 
held  shows  the  pupil's  standing  in  School. 

If  a  Prize  is  to  be  awarded  at  the  close  of  the  Session,  there  can  be 
no  mistake  in  determining  to  whom  it  belongs ;  and  the  decision  being 
made  by  each  pupil  exhibiting  the  Cards  and  Certificates  received,  no 
snspicion  of  favoritism  can  arise. 

The  Aids  are  neat  in  design,  and  are  beautifully  printed  in  colors. 
The  Certificates  are  prizes  which  children  will  admire  and  cherish. 
The  Single  Merits  and  Half  Merits  are  printed  on  card-board ;  the  Cards 
and  Checks  on  heavy  paper,  and  may  be  used  many  times.  This  makes 
the  system  very  cheap.  The  Aids  are  put  up  in  sets  of  five  hundred, 
there  being  eighty  Certificates,  one  hundred  and  twenty  Checks,  two 
hundred  cards,  and  one  hundred  Single  Merits  and  Half  Merits. 
Price,  per  set,  $1.25.     By  mail,  prepaid,  $1.35. 

J.  W.  SCHERMERHORN  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

430  Brooinc   Street,  Now-York< 


